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IN PEEPAEATION THE LESSER EVIL 

A play dealing with the divorce problem 
in four acts 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR 



JACINTA 

BIGGS'S BAR 

SONGS OF A CITY 

IDYLLS OF GREECE 
Series One 

IDYLLS OF GREECE 
Series Two 



THE 

WOMAN WHO 

COULD 

A Play with a Purpose 




HHIMM 



HOWARD V. SUTHERLAND 






NEW YORK 

Desmond FitzGerald, Inc. 
1911 



M 



a 




HIille 



rHLc^CuofS J 



Copyrighted as a Dramatic Composition 
1910 






Copyright, 1911, by 
Desmond Fitz Gerald, Inc. 



3)0! D SaSRCV 



t 



WALTER C. MEAD 



■i! 



CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY 

John Chester, a middle-aged broker. 
Mabel Chester, his wife — a woman of thirty-five. 
Myrtle Duncan, her sister — just out of her teens. 
Richard Stetson, a middle-aged broker. 
Elizabeth Stetson, his wife — a woman past forty. 
Ann Florriwell, a wealthy woman in her thirties. 
Heron Wall, a middle-aged lawyer. 
Henry Elkins, a young man. 
Erminie, maid to Mrs. Chester. 



The play takes place in New York 
at the present time, and covers two 
days, commenci/ng Thursday afternoon. 



ACT I 

Afi afternoon at the home of Mrs. Stetson. 
The drawing-room is furnished expensively. Mrs. 
Stetson is seated in an armchair. Mrs. Chester 
is seated opposite her. At one end of the room is 
a vestibule contai/ni/ng palms. From this vestibule 
enter the different guests. The drawing-room is 
supposed to face the street. Two windows show, 
and a door, opening into a dvnimg-room. 

Mrs. Stetson 

You have only done, my dear, what hundreds of 
other women have had to do. It cost me thou- 
sands to rise to my present position ; and if I were 
to tell you who got my money in the first in- 
stance you would never believe me. We women 
always have to pay for the chance to be success- 
ful. On the stage, or in politics, we pay one man 
or another; in the social world we pay a more 
fortunate woman. And in the latter case we only 
part with money. 

Mrs. Chester 

It is a terrible state of affairs. I wonder if it 
is really worth while? 

[1] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Mrs. Stetson 

Of course it is worth while. It is a part of the 
game of life. The democratic spirit is all very 
well in the country. It consoles the agriculturist 
for his lack of fine linen ; although I understand 
the farmers are better off than they would have it 
generally known. 

Mrs. Chester 

I am sometimes weary of the whole thing. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Then you should make preparations for a trip 
to Europe. When Stetson is tired he invariably 
plunges. It has a better effect on him than surf- 
bathing, and someone else always foots the bills. 

Mrs. Chester 

But if Chester should find out what I have 
done.'' Oh, Mrs. Stetson, perhaps I have 
jeopardized his fortune! And all for what.? 

Mrs. Stetson 

Nonsense, my dear. The bonds are perfectly 
safe. Stetson will merely put them up as security. 
From what I understand, they won't pass out of 
his hands. And before your husband misses 

[2] 



ACT FIRST 

them, you shall have them back. They will en- 
able Stetson to put through a deal, and you shall 
benefit by it. Besides, think what you are get- 
ting as a bonus — I think that is what they call it. 
The Ambassador has arranged for us to enter- 
tain the Crown Prince at dinner, only twelve 
guests to be present. Lord and Lady Monteith 
will be among the number, and Baroness Stotzen- 
feldt. When you have met these people the best 
houses in Europe will be open to you. Your 
husband has merely to give you the money. 

Mrs. Chester 

Ah! We Americans never seem to be able to 
accomplish anything without money. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Well, it is really all we have. With us it takes 
the place of blue blood ; and as we have chosen 
to build our social structure thereon, we must see 
to it that it obtains for us the recognition else- 
where accorded to culture and breeding. Our 
grandchildren may have the breeding, and welcome. 
For myself, I am just as proud of my father as 
if he had been a Duke. Had he lived in England, 
he might have been knighted. His beer was just 
as good as Guinness's. 

[3] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Mrs. Chester 

I wonder what the people to the manner born 
really think of us ? However rich a woman, if they 
know her to be common they must despise her for 
her pretensions. 

Mrs. Stetson 

They take the money, my dear; and if they 
say anything they say it behind her back, which 
isn't saying it at all. But you have had ad- 
vantages, and when you meet these people you 
can hold your own with any of them. The Amer- 
ican woman always can. And in society it is 
always better to be talked about, even slandered, 
than never mentioned at all. But you will win 
out. 

Mrs. Chester 
I only hope the price doesn't prove too dear. 

Mrs. Stetson 

A woman always pays for her ambition ; men 
pay for their lack of it. You want to succeed 
socially. You might have taken up literature. 
You might have gone on the stage, although a 
scandal is almost a necessity for success in that 
line. You might have taken up philanthropy, or 

[4] 



ACT FIRST 

interested yourself in dogs and cats. But you are 
going after bigger game, and you must be willing 
to risk more. 

Mrs. Chester 

John takes so little interest in society. 

Mrs. Stetson 

The American man never does, my dear. He 
is essentially a home animal ; and considering what 
poor homes we women make him put up with, it is 
a wonder he stays in them at all. I have no 
sympathy with these women who would close the 
saloon yet seem incapable of opening homes of 
their own. If they have children, you will find 
them on the street or in the back alleys, but never 
in the nursery or the parlor. I know I'd be dis- 
satisfied if I were a man. 

Mrs. Chester 
(as if to herself ) 
They are the best men in the world. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Yes, and we are not worthy of them. Intel- 
lectually we are often their superiors ; in a few 

[5] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

generations we may outclass them physically ; but, 

when it comes to downright affection, generosity, 

and consideration for the rights and feelings of 

others, we are away beneath them. American 

men are all right. If they weren't, we women 
might be better. 

Mrs. Chester 

I wish I felt more at ease about money matters. 
To be candid with you, that is why I dropped in. 
Ever since I took the bonds out of our safe I 
have worried. Chester thinks they are still there. 

Mrs. Stetson 

And they might just as well be there. Whether 
in your possession or in Stetson's, what difference 
does it make? Now, my dear girl, just dismiss 
the matter from your mind. They will be re- 
turned to you in a few days. Stetson will have 
put his deal through, and there'll be hundreds of 
thousands in it for him. You shall profit by it as 
well. He has promised me that emerald cross in 
Tiffany's, the one that came from the Proboff col- 
lection. 

Mrs. Chester 

It is certainly a beauty. But haven't you 
enough jewels.^* 

[6] 



ACT FIRST 

Mrs. Stetson 

My dear! What a question. Somebody has 
to have it. It isn't so much the possession of 
these things that gives one pleasure, as keeping 
someone else from owning them. And it would 
look magnificent on my yellow silk. Stetson is 
very generous, especially when it comes to jewels. 
And even if he doesn't pay cash for them, the 
tradespeople like to have our names on their books. 
It makes them feel they know us socially. I only 
hope Stetson's deal goes through to-morrow. 
Then I can get the cross and wear it on Saturday 
at the dinner. This is, let me think — Thursday. 

Mrs. Chester 
Who will be here, Mrs. Stetson.? 

Mrs. Stetson 

At the dinner, the Crown Prince, the Ambas- 
sador, Lord and Lady Monteith and the Baroness, 
Mrs. Stuyvesaart, and Miss Elgin, the Philadel- 
phia girl who was engaged to Lord Cromer, you 
know. Then, you and your husband, and Stetson 
and myself. The other man will be Heron Wall. 
He knows all the rest, with the exception of the 
Crown Prince, and he is a clever talker. I have 

[T] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

issued invitations to about twenty-five to drop in 
later, just names and nobodies. You are a better 
looker than the Philadelphia girl, and I shall see to 
it that you get your share of the Crown Prince. 

Mrs. Chester 
That I get my money's worth, you mean! 

Mrs. Stetson 

Don't be silly, child. It is merely a business 
matter. 

Mrs. Chester 

I sometimes wonder if Europeans don't see 
through our so-called " business matters," but are 
too polite to say so. 

Mrs. Stetson 

They think too slowly, my dear. And when an 
American woman is around they don't even think; 
they only look. When I was a girl I had a couple 
of them at my feet for years ; but Stetson struck 
me as being a better money-maker, and that is 
what counts. 

[8] 



ACT FIRST 

Mrs. Chester 

Ah! I wonder if it is? Chester is working all 
the time. When I go to the Coast he is sweltering 
in New York. 

Mrs. Stetson 

He likes it, my dear. Our men soon forget 
the little they learn at college. Like Maeterlinck's 
bulldog, they look once at the stars, just once, 
and ever afterwards look on the ground. We 
mustn't get sentimental over them, or we shall 
spoil them. Your Englishman is too much of a 
star-gazer, except when he is looking after his 
own interests. 

Mrs. Chester 

Is this Miss Elgin trying to catch a title? 

Mrs. Stetson 

The Cromer affair rather opened her eyes. He 
insisted upon a cash settlement, you know. Of 
course, his title was clear, even if his estates were 
heavily mortgaged. But he was too brutal in his 
frankness, and I guess that is why she threw him 
over. Whether she really cared for him I don't 
know ; few independent women do nowadays. I am 

[9] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

beginning to think that to love truly one must 
be poor. 

Mrs. Chester 

Oh! don't say such things. I know Chester 
loved me, and in those days I had more than he. 
And, in your own case, neither of you was poor, 
yet 

Mrs. Stetson 

(interrupting) 

My dear, you are an idealist. Stetson and I 
have made a good team. We have succeeded as 
the world understands success. But I doubt if 
ours is the ideal marriage by any means. Stetson 
makes money, and I spend it. We entertain lav- 
ishly, and — well, there it ends. It seems to be the 
aim of the average American marriage. 

Mrs. Chester 
You mean there should be more to it? 

Mrs. Stetson 

To make it marriage, yes. We are not serious 
enough in the undertaking. Marriage to us is a 
sort of farce-comedy ; in fact it is too often merely 

[10] 



ACT FIRST 

a preliminary to divorce. When it becomes in any 
way irksome or unpleasant, we separate and try 
again. We prefer cats and dogs to children, and 
silk gowns to money in the bank. I'm one of the 
sinners, so I ought to know. 

Mrs. Chester 

Why not try to change things? If we women 
are so powerful, we are responsible for the con- 
dition of society. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Exactly. But, my dear, no amount of preach- 
ing will ever make our society women other than 
what they are — shallow and feather-brained, dab- 
blers, spenders, and gadders, satisfied with their 
unambitious men because they lack ambition them- 
selves. Useless enough in prosperity, when ad- 
versity overtakes them they are of as little value 
to the community as is the vagabond or the 
waster. But we have to put up with them. 

Mrs. Chester 
I hope I am of some value to the community. 

Mrs. Stetson 

I hope you are, my dear. I know I am not. 

\_Enter Heron Wall. 

[11] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

My dear Mrs. Stetson! And Mrs. Chester! 
You see it is the privilege of an idler to call on 
you ladies in the afternoon. 

Mrs. Stetson 
A husband has that pleasure only in the evening. 

Wall 
The overworked American husband! 

Mrs. Chester 

Yes. Mrs. Stetson and I were just discussing 
him, and life in general. . 

Mrs. Stetson 
Especially married life. 

Wall 

(taking a seat) 

And to what conclusions have you come, may 
I ask.? 

Mrs. Stetson 

I am afraid I have rather shocked Mrs. Chester 
by stating a few truths too plainly. 

[13] 



ACT FIRST 

Wall 

Please take me into jour confidence. When a 
clever woman tells the truth, it must, indeed, be 
interesting. 

Mrs. Chestee 
A man is always sarcastic before dinner. 

Mrs. Stetson 

And inclined to be sentimental after. But let 
us hear what Mr. Wall has to saj. 

Wall 

I await cross-examination, and am prepared to 
suffer for the sins of my sex. 

Mrs. Stetson 
I was arraigning women rather than men. 

Wall 
Ah! Then you were, indeed, telling the truth. 

Mrs. Chester 

Perhaps we thought the men were hopeless, 

[13] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Wall 
We are your slaves, you know. 

Mrs. Stetson 
(speaking rapidly) 

No. Let us be candid with him. The men 
are more sinned against than sinning. How shall 
I put it.f^ (She pauses a few seconds.) That 
society is diseased. That we women are to blame. 
That we demand of our husbands, and of the men 
who may become our husbands, the sacrifice of their 
souls for the gratification of our whims. That 
we marry merely to better our own condition 
rather than to establish a fine relation with a man 
whom we should love, and whose welfare should 
be our chief desire. That society is responsible 
for the individual failure, for the individual crime 
and the individual suicide ; and that as society, as 
generally understood, is composed in the m£un of 
women, and is governed by them, that women must 
be held responsible for the general rottenness of 
our social life. 

Wall 

A terrible arraignment, indeed, and rather 
sweeping. 

[14] 



ACT FIRST 
Mes. Chester 

I am sure we are not all bad. Many of us are 
only victims of conditions that existed long before 
we had our being. 

Mrs. Stetson 

But we are none the less culpable. We put up 
with those conditions instead of combating them. 
And therein we are all equally guilty. 

Wall 

Twenty years ago I hoped to change society. 
To-day — well, I am wiser to-day. 

Mrs. Stetson 

It must be changed if we are to remain a sane 
people. We dance on the edge of the precipice. 
A step too far and we are over. To-morrow, I 
may be among the unfortunate ! 

Mrs. Chester 

(startled) 

You don't mean 

[15] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Stetson 

(hurriedly interrupting ) 

No ! no ! Of course not. I was speaking im- 
personally. We are safe, thank God! I'm one 
of the spenders, but Stetson is a Napoleon and can 
always foot the bills. 

Wall 

Don't you think the American man prefers a 
spender, Mrs. Stetson.? The gambling instinct is 
stronger in us than the instinct to save. It is 
only the foreigner who thinks of To-morrow. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Then so much the better for the foreigner. He 
may not accord his women the freedom the Amer- 
ican husband allows to his, but they are at least 
safe. They don't live in daily expectation of 
being sold out, impoverished, and seeing their hus- 
bands working for their wealthy friends or — dead 
by their own hands. 

Mrs. Chester 

Don't picture such horrible things. Mr. Wall, 
can't you say something in favor of society ^ 

[16] 



ACT FIRST 

Wall 

A bachelor can apologize for anything, you 
know, even matrimony. For me, society means 
dinners, cards, an occasional dance — I am selfish 
enough to accept invitations only when I care to ; 
chats in cozy corners, machines, pretty dresses. 
It suits me ; but, then, I have no responsibilities. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Were you married f Wall holds up his hand) 
and had children, you might think otherwise. 

Wall 

In our set, to be married seems the safest insur- 
ance against children. It is fortunate that among 
the middle class are to be found men and women 
as human as were our parents. 

Mrs. Chester 

A bachelor can hardly be expected to know any- 
thing about the cost of bringing up children, and 
the other responsibilities connected with them. 

Wall 

Why ! As to that, Mrs. Chester, I am perhaps 
right in asserting that the brooch you are wearing 

[17] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

has cost more than would the maintenance of a 
healthy child for a year. And — I repeat that, 
being unmarried, I am hardly a person to express 
an opinion on the subject — I am inclined to believe 
that if our married women were willing to have a 
child to occupy their attention, they might be less 
inclined to waste their time at cards and teas ; they 
might even feel less need of jewels and fine clothes. 
From what I can see, the average husband works 
himself to death so that his wife can keep a cat 
or dog in comfort and entertain her friends. 

Mrs. Chester 

I think yoii exaggerate the case. As Mrs. Stet- 
son said, were you married you might think differ- 
ently. 

Wall 

But, being unmarried, love has not made me 
blind. And, from what I can make out, a husband 
gets nothing that is not within the reach of the 
single man. Is it companionship .f^ When it comes 
to companionship the bachelor can have a dozen 
women* friends to the husband's one. If the mean- 
ing of the American home is, as it seems to be, a 
flat or an apartment where no children are allowed, 
the bachelor can maintain it as easily. No, I see 

[18] 



ACT FIRST 

no reason why the bachelor should envy the aver- 
age husband. At least, not in this country where 
he seems to be absolutely under the yoke of his 
wife. 

Mrs. Stetson 

(speaking nervously) 

We are all friends here. The day has come 
when all the world must be friends, and must dis- 
cuss these things. We must see wherein we have 
erred, and we must rectify wrongs. The race de- 
pends on what the indiyidual does. So I can say 
that I know society is all wrong, that we women 
are wrong, that I have lived wrong. If I had it 
to do all over again, how differently I would do! 
What have Stetson and I outside of our money 
and position? What have I? What has he? 

[There is a pause in the conversa- 
tion for about ten seconds. 

Wall 
(quietly) 

We are all in the same boat. I guess I might 
have made more of myself had I cared to. But let 
us give our workers what credit is due them. 
Stetson is busy from morn till night; and to my 

[19] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

knowledge, Mrs. Chester, your husband has not 
taken a vacation for ten years. 

Mrs. Chester 

Yes. The men work all the time. I sometimes 
wonder how they do it. 

Mrs. Stetson 

They have to, my dear, to keep things going. 
If it weren't for the energy of our men the nation 
would be bankrupt in a year. The thing is : what 
do we women give them for their hard work? 
Certainly no home life. 

Mrs. Chester 
Chester has never complained about ours. 

Wall 
Why should he, Mrs. Chester? 

Mrs. Stetson 

Half our men don't know what home really 
means ; what it should be. If they did, they might 
care less about business. 

Wall 

Of that disease you can never cure them, Mrs. 
Stetson. As you know, I allow the law to occupy 

[20] 



ACT FIRST 

but very little of my time. The law is no longer 
a profession ; it has become a trade, and, to be 
successful, a lawyer must be at the beck and call 
of a politician, or a corporation, or a Trust. In- 
dependence means poverty to him. But were I a 
business man, I am sure I should do as my 
neighbor, work day and night and accumulate 
money. A man's success is judged nowadays by 
the money he makes. 

Mrs. Stetson 

And women are responsible for society's accept- 
ance of such a standard. Before a girl is really 
old enough to think, she hears her parents dis- 
cussing the financial status of So-and-so. She 
sees her mother's discontent if an acquaintance 
can spend more money on dress, entertainments, 
or luxury. And when she passes into the society 
of older girls she hears them considering the 
means of their young men friends, and so comes 
to appraise them at their financial rather than 
their moral worth. 

Wall 

Well, perhaps it is better to accustom a young 
girl to what she must expect when she is older. 
This is likely to be remembered as the century 

[21] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

of few babies and no children. We treat them 
as adults at twelve, ask their opinions at fifteen, 
and act upon their advice before they are twenty. 
For myself, I am glad to have been a real boy, 
although it seems to have been long ago. 

Mas. Chester 
(reminiscently) 

And I would gladly be a girl again. 

Mrs. Stetson 

It is only in our children that we re-live our 
youth. 

Wall 

Then we are undoubtedly doomed to remain a 
nation of adults. What with her clubs and social 
functions, and her continual endeavors to emulate 
the woman richer than herself, the average woman 
of to-day, if she had a child, would be too busy 
to take note of the fact. 

Mrs. Stetson 

We are likely to hear some interesting ideas at 
the dinner-table on Saturday. Lady Monteith is 
a very advanced woman, and is not afraid to ex- 
press her convictions. 

[22] 



ACT FIRST 

Wall 

The English have mastered the difficult art of 
eating and conversing at the same time. Un- 
fortunately, we Americans fill oui'selves in silence. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Or discuss real estate values, the merits of our 
machines, or the latest scandal. 

Wall 

Than which, at the dinner-table, the heaviest 
silence would be preferable. 

Mrs. Chester 
(to WallJ 

Mrs. Stetson has told me you know her guests 
with the exception of the Crown Prince. 

Wall 

Yes. The Ambassador and I are old friends, 
and I have shot with Monteith in Scotland. The 
Baroness has told me her troubles in three capi- 
tals of Europe, and I knew Stuyvesaart before he 
forgot his by dying of apoplexy. I was one of 
the lawyers who made it impossible for Cromer 
to benefit by the Elgin millions. As for the 

[23] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Crown Prince, well, outside of the aristocratic set, 
royalty confers the privilege of its friendship only 
on tradespeople and the demi-monde. Except, of 
course, when, instead of going to the Opera 
Comique, it comes to America. 

Mrs. Chester 

Mr. Wall seems to agree with me that these 
foreigners see through our pretenses. I wish the 
old days and the old ways would come back, so 
that we could be sincere. 

Wall 

Sincerity, my dear lady, has never existed. 
Life has always consisted of playing at make- 
believe. In Europe, they pretend to be aristo- 
cratic ; here we pretend to be equal. 

[Enter Myrtle Duncan and Elkins. 

Mrs. Stetson 

(rising to greet them) 

Ah! here comes Youth; and youth is life, sin- 
cere, hopeful, gorgeous ! (To Myrtle. J Dear, 
I am glad to see you. (Turning to Elkins. J 
And you too, Henry. Could we always have 
young people near us, there would be no need 
of doctors. 

[24] 



ACT FIRST 

Wall 

(rises) 

But there might be more need of us lawyers. 
How are you, Miss Myrtle? 

Mes. Chester 

Silence, cynic. Come and sit by me, Henry. 
I want to know about the position you are after. 

Myrtle 

(as she and Mrs. Stetson and Wall take their 

seats) 

I waited outside while he kept an appointment 
with the Secretary. But you won't get much out 
of him. I couldn't. 

Mrs. Stetson 
Tell us, Henry. 

Elkins 

It is still hanging fire. Say, Mrs. Stetson, if 
this doesn't go through, I'm going to ask Mr. 
Stetson to give me a job. 

[25] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Mrs. Stetson 

Anything but a stockbroker, Henry. You are 
not the kind to go comfortably through life while 
your victims curse you in poverty, or from a 
suicide's grave. I hope the day of the promoter 
and the gambler is almost over. 

Wall 

That day can never come, Mrs. Stetson. We 
are all too eager to make money without working 
for it. 

Elkins 
(enthusiastically ) 
Not all of us. 

Wall 

The great majority, then. And, were it not 
for the pleasant sensation of uncertainty con- 
nected with the adventure, there would be but few 
marriages. 

Mrs. Chester 
Is that why some men marry rich women.'' 

[26] 



ACT FIRST 

Wall 

Partly. Because, if the gold is all they are 
after, my opinion as a bachelor is a man can get 
it far easier, and with less suffering and loss of 
self-respect by going to the Klondyke. I would 
sooner face a bear at fifty below zero than a rich 
wife at boiling point. 

Myrtle 
Lord Cromer thought otherwise. 

Wall 

Yes ; but he was an Englishman and a lord. 
And while poverty sharpens one's wits and sensi- 
bilities, over-much leisure is apt to blunt them. A 
lord will do anything sooner than work. 

Myrtle 
Even marry.? 

Wall 
Exactly. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Then he is no worse than many of our society 
women. It all comes back to what I was saying 
before you came in. 

[27] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Elkins 
And what was that, Mrs. Stetson? 

Wall 

No, no! I protest, Mrs. Stetson. Here is a 
young man, standing expectantly on the threshold 
of life. His finger on his lips — you remember 
the line describing Joy.'' At any rate it is all 
ahead of him. He believes in everything and 
everybody. Why shatter his best illusion — belief 
in women and their influence for good.'* 

Myrtle 
I think you are horrid! 

Mrs. Stetson 

Belief in good women is not illusion ; but had I 
a boy of my own I should teach him to dis- 
criminate between good women, the women who 
work in one way or another, and the idlers of our 
own set. And it is these women I am decrying. 

Mrs. Chester 

(plaintively) 

But how can one help doing nothing when 
everything is done for you ? I study Italian ; my 
maid cannot do that for me. 

[28] 



ACT FIRST 

Wall 
A labor, indeed. 

Mrs. Stetson 

My dear, there is so much we could do had we 
only the instinct to know what. How many of 
us consider the responsibility attached to having 
servants.? We order them about, and pay them 
their wages ; and in the same spirit we write our 
checks monthly, and forward them to the Asso- 
ciated Charities. Having done this, we think we 
have done our share of looking after our servants 
and the poor. It is the modern interpretation 
of our duty to our neighbor. 

Myrtle 

I know what Mrs. Stetson means. She would 
have us remember that we are all human, that 
distinctions are only the result of circumstance; 
and that it is the duty of men and women to treat 
those who are less fortunate also as men and 
women. I sometimes wonder how we women can 
clothe ourselves in expensive silks and satins, when 
the girl who shows us the goods has to live on 
four or five dollars a week. 

[29] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Wall 
The dream of the dreamer! 

Mrs. Stetson 

Years ago it was the dream of the dreamer; 
to-day it is the battle-cry of everyone interested 
in the welfare of the race. Wealth has made us 
forget our obligations. 

Mrs. Chester 

I am sure I am good to Erminie. She has one 
evening a week to herself. I give her my old 
dresses. I can't invite her in to take tea with me. 

Myrtle 

But we might perhaps add to the comfort of 
her bedroom. 

Wall 

Practical Miss Myrtle! 

Mrs. Stetson 

We women waste our time. If we have chil- 
dren we neglect them ; and the younger women 
are growing up, believing that the duties of 
motherhood can be relegated to the nursemaid. 

[30] 



ACT FIRST 

Wall 
But think what experts they are at bridge! 

Mes. Chester 

And I am the Secretary of a Mothers' Club. 
Chester never seems dissatisfied. 

Myrtle 

Think of it! When am I to become an aunt, 
Mabel? 

Mrs. Stetson 

And neither is Stetson dissatisfied, my dear. 
But the reason is, as I said before, the average 
American man has almost forgotten what a home 
should be. He graduates from the boarding-house 
to the apartment. He passes from the surveil- 
lance of the landlady to that of the janitor. No 
wonder that he spends most of his time in his 
office. 

Elkins 

And yet women are back of every move for 
reform. Don't you think we are more advanced 
than any other people? And isn't the credit for 
that advance chiefly due to our women? 

[31] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Stetson 

To a few women, rather; the majority do 
nothing. Consciously, or unconsciously, we hin- 
der the work of the others. 

Myrtle 

Yet, one by one, the idlers fall into line. Be- 
sides giving, wealthy women are seeing the neces- 
sity of doing. 

Wall 

When the daughters of the wealthy join the 
ranks of the reformers, my dear Miss Myrtle, it 
is only for the sake of the notoriety. It is the 
latest scheme to get their names and pictures in 
the papers. 

Mrs. Stetson 

The deeds that have the greatest influence for 
good are the little deeds done in the home. Let 
the men attend to cleaning up politics ; but let a 
woman make her home what it should be, and her 
children what they ought to be. If things go on 
as they are at present, inside of fifty years the 
Government will have to father and mother the 
little ones. 

[32] 



ACT FIRST 

Well, I don't see how you are going to change 
things. For women to give up their freedom 
would be retrogression, and, although we have 
many failings, that of going backward is not 
one of them. 

Mrs. Chester 

And a woman who is accustomed from child- 
hood to being petted and made much of, is not 
going to give up everything and become serious. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Then she must expect a rude awakening sooner 
or later. One has to pay for frivolity and idle- 
ness, just as one has to pay for gambling and 
speculation. 

Elkins 

By the bye, as we came along the newsboys 
were shouting about more trouble on Wall Street. 
I didn't hear the particulars, but quite a number 
of firms are said to be involved. 

[Mrs. Stetson starts. 

Mrs. Chester 
I always dread these Wall Street panics. 

[33] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Stetson 

Everybody dreads them. Wall Street is a 
menace to every woman in the country. Legiti- 
mate business, from the West to the East, is en- 
dangered. There will be no safety for anyone 
until the power of the speculators is curtailed. 
No man knows it better than Stetson ; and he has 
often said that if he could get out, he would take 
his money and invest it in the West. 

Wall 

The West is certainly drawing the money of 
the country. There was a time when it all came 
here, but now it is beginning to flow the other way. 
The irrigation projects are making Colorado a 
Paradise, and even London is looking there for 
investments. 

Elkins 

England seems to be paying the penalty for 
its centuries of exploitation of the masses by the 
classes. Sooner or later the price has to be paid. 

Mrs. Chester 

Yet one is always hearing how progressive the 
Englishwomen are. 

[34] 



ACT FIRST 

Mrs. Stetson 

Conditions in society are no less rotten there 
than they are here. Earnest women are to be 
found everywhere. But the majority, in England 
as in America, are idlers, triflers, and spenders. 
It remains to be seen whether England can pull 
herself together. But it is of far greater im- 
portance for us to profit by her example, and the 
first step must be taken by us women — if we want 
to save our men. 

Elkins 

Hear that. Myrtle? From now on you will 
please discourage me from sending you candy and 
violets ; and when we take in a show, you will 
please say you prefer sitting in the gallery, for 
the sake of the exercise! 

Wall 

And I shall immediately write a brief for the 
Nickelodeons. Perhaps we can head society there 
instead of to the Grand Opera, which only one 
in a thousand can understand. Once make it the 
thing for the Four Hundred to do, and the Ten 
Thousand will flock there. It makes but little 
difference what such people see or hear. They 

[ 35 ] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

wish only to be seen and heard — especially when 
music is offered them. 



Myrtle 
(looking at Wall J 
The men never take things seriously. 

Mrs. Chester 
Perhaps that is why they accomplish so much. 

Elkins 

Myrtle doesn't like the idea of climbing to the 
gallery. 

Myrtle 

I don't mind where I sit if I'm with the right 
man. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Now, don't quarrel. We shall neither have to 
resort to the Nickelodeons, nor give up candy and 
flowers. So many people are thinking along these 
lines that good is bound to follow. I only hope 
a crash doesn't come before the good day arrives. 

[36] 



ACT FIRST 

Wall 

Ah! The Golden Age; the dream of dreams, 
the one thing impossible of realization! 

[While he is speaking, voices are 
heard in the vestibule, and a 
few seconds later Stetson and 
Chestee enter, 

Mrs. Stetson 
Here come the men. 

Wall 
Shearing must be over early to-day. 

[Stetson crosses and shakes hands 
with Mrs. Chester; Chester 
with Mrs. Stetson. Stetson 
then shakes hands with Myrtle. 

Stetson 
You see, I thought I'd run up and see my home 
before dusk. Picked up Chester on the way, and 
we come as a surprise to you. Chester, how does 
your wife look to you by daylight? 

[The two men take seats. 

Chester 

Uncommonly well and attractive. Never knew 
I had such a good one. 

[37] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Elkins 
How's that for a man married fifteen years? 

Wall 
American plan — no children. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Mr. Chester's remark substantiates what I have 
been saying. (To her husband.) Richard, we 
want to begin anew. 

Stetson 
To do what? 

Mrs. Stetson 

To get away from the uncertainty of things; 
give up society 

Wall 

(mterrupting ) 

Live on a farm, wear overalls, and that sort 
of thing. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Not at all, but to try to live a life a little more 
like the lives of those who are not ashamed of the 
soil. 

[38] 



ACT FIRST 

Chester 

We are all too much accustomed to luxury to 
do that, Mrs. Stetson. 

Stetson 
(laughing) 
Could you get along without your machine? 

Elkins 

I see where you don't get one, Myrtle. Or 
sixty-dollar hats. 

Mrs. Stetson 

I would give up everything if I knew that by 
so doing I could rid ourselves of the sword that 
is ever suspended above us. I could sacrifice all 
luxury if I thought that by taking a place a little 
lower down I could be of service to those in need. 

Chester 

How about it, Mabel? Are you willing to give 
up your trip abroad this year, and stay at home 
to dam my socks? I believe there are twenty or 
thirty pair needing attention. 

[39] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Chester 

(hesltatmgly ) 

I don't know. I Oh, don't be foolish. 

Stetson 

(placing his hands on his knees, and leaning 

forward) 

He is only joking, Mrs. Chester. We are up, 
and we must stay up. No going backward for 
us. Elkins here isn't thinking of any farm. In 
a couple of years he will want his touring car and 
a house off Central Park. Wall doesn't truckle to 
politicians or corporations for business, because 
he is well fixed, and doesn't need more money. 
Chester and I are in the ring, in the business ring ; 
and we are there to make money for our wives. 
If anyone crosses us, so much the worse for him ; 
that is to say, if it don't turn out the worse for 
us. But that's all in the game. While men are 
men, and women are women, the game will go on. 
I win, you lose; you win, I lose. (He talks ex- 
citedly.) But while I'm in the ring I win if I 
can. Hang ethics. Let the high-brows talk all 
they like, and stay poor. I'm here to make money, 
and it don't affect me what the other fellow does 

[ 40 ] 



ACT FIRST 

afterward. Let him hang himself if he has a mind 
to. I'm after the cash — K-A-S-H — cash! 

Myrtle 
(Jwrrified) 

But, Mr. Stetson, you kill yourself getting it. 

Stetson 

Maybe, my girl ; but one kills one's self if one 
loses it ; and I'd rather keep fighting and die by 
inches than 

Mrs. Chester 
(interrupting) 

Don't, Mr. Stetson ! You give me the horrors. 
You men are all the same. Chester has spells, 
and talks money to me until I hate the very mention 
of it. 

Stetson 

(quietly) 

But we have to have it, my dear Mrs. Chester. 
It pays for your clothes, for your jewelry, for 
your electric. Without money, you could have 
no dinners at Sherry's, no trips to Europe. And 
we men are glad to make it for you ; were we not 

[41] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

busy making fortunes for you to spend we might 
be wrecking empires. 

Mrs. Stetson 
And as it is, you wreck individuals. 

Stetson 
(laughing) 
Maybe, but they have the chance to wreck us. 

Chester 
It's a great game. 

Stetson 
And both sides have equal chances. 

Wall 
(sitting up and listening) 
I thought I heard a noise on the street. 

Elkins 
Probably a late extra. 

Stetson 
(nervousli/) 
The boys are always crying something or 
other. Things were a little unsettled on the Street 
this afternoon. 

[42] 



ACT FIRST 

Myrtle 
Listen! I can hear him. 



Wait! 



Stetson 

\_He approaches one of the windows 
and opens it. Everyone is 
silent in the room; a few sec- 
onds later the hoarse voice of 
a newsboy is heard in the dis- 
tance, calling : " Extry ! 'Ere 
y'are. All about the smash on 
Wall Street. 'Undreds ruined. 
'Ere y'are. Extry ! " Stetson 
closes the wi/ndoWy and leans 
against it, facing the room. 



Mrs. Stetson 
(rises) 
Oh! it is all so terrible. Richard- 



Stetson 

(lifting his hand) 

No, I'm all right, dear. I know the men who 
have gone down; but I'm safe. 

[43] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

Don't worry, Mrs. Stetson. He probably ate 
mushrooms at lunch. 

Elkins 

(rising) 

I will slip out and get the sheet. The servants 
don't want to be set talking. 

J^Exit Elkins. 

Wall 

That's right. (Goes over to a side table on 
which is a decanter, pours out a glass of whisks/, 
and takes it over to Stetson. j You fellows get 
scares all the time. Drink this, old man. You 
need a bracer. 

Myrtle 

Mrs. Stetson, I'm a convert to the Simple Life 
idea. 

Wall 
For ten minutes. 

Mrs. Chester 

Come and sit down, Mr. Stetson. If John had 
to worry like that 

[44] 



ACT FIRST 

Chester 
(interrupting) 
I'm too easy-going for that, my dear. 

Stetson 

(returning to his chair) 

Don't believe him. Every man worries if he 
truly loves his wife. (To his wife.) Don't be 
frightened, old girl. I've been a little upset to- 
day ; liver, probably ; otherwise this thing wouldn't 
have worried me. 

Mrs. Stetson 

(leaning over her husband) 

We must give it up, Richard. It isn't worth 
while. 

Wall 

Don't be nervous. It will all be forgotten by 
to-morrow. 

Stetson 

(abstractedly ) 

Eh.^ To-morrow! What about to-morrow.? 

[45] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

I said you'll be yourself in a few minutes. It 
will all be forgotten by to-morrow. 

Stetson 
Yes, yes. I'm just a little upset. 

Mrs. Stetson 
You must give it up, Richard; for my sake. 

Stetson 

Well, when I've turned this one deal, perhaps 
I may. 

Chester 

Nonsense ! You are run down. Jump into your 
car, and take a good spin before dinner. What 
you need is fresh air. 

Myrtle 
(as Elkins appears mith a paper) 
Here comes Henry. 

Elkins 
(gimng the paper to StetsonJ 
There's a long list of them. But your name 
isn't down. 

[46] 



ACT FIRST 

Stetson 

(glancing through the list) 

No, I knew I was safe. (He evidently has to 
control himself.) 

Wall 

Eh? Well, it's all in the game. So long as 
you aren't hurt, what's the difference.? 

Mes. Chester 

(risi/ng) 

It is awful to think of so many being ruined. 
Come, ^lyrtle. 

Mrs. Stetson 

These are only the Agents. Of their victims 
we shall never hear. 

Stetson 

Ah! the Great Many. Good God! May we 
never be among them. 

(curtain) 
[47] 



ACT II 

It is evening of the same day. Sitting-room 
of Chester's apartment; the blinds are drawn. A 
door opens into the room. Chester is seated at 
his wife's writing- table, going over some papers 
which he puts back into a drawer. Elkins is 
seated in an armchair. At the end of the room, 
portieres are hanging y hiding another door. 

Elkins 

Same old performance, eh? Every time I drop 
in you seem to be looking over the bills. 

Chester 

Yes ; it is one of the rights of the American 
husband. His cherished prerogative is to pay 
them. Kings do no more. 

Elkins 
Or seldom as much. 

Chester 

Well, there's a sort of satisfaction in it, any- 
how. What one might call fulfilling one's destiny. 
You will know all about it one of these days. 

[48] 



ACT SECOND 

Elkins 

Not in the near future, I hope. Whenever I 
contemplate matrimony I inquire into the price 
of the women's hats. If that doesn't produce the 
necessary chill I go into autos; and, then, there 
are always plenty of women willing to discuss the 
servant question with me. 

Chester 

(rises and takes a cigarette from a box on the 

table) 

Such matters should not be talked over before 
the very young, and hopeful. 

, Elkins 

That might be construed as conspiracy. Throw 
me a cigarette. Even if Mabel runs up bills, she 
lets you smoke around the house. I know lots of 
women who won't. That shows you've a wise one. 

Chester 
, Thanks. 

Elkins 

The man who can smoke around his own home 
is usually content to stay there instead of warm- 
ing the chairs in his club. 

[49] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

Why don't you write a book, " How to Get 
Along, Though Married"? But you are right. 
She's a brick, my boy. May you get as good a 
one. It isn't her fault if feathers come high. 

Elkins 

That's so. And, being a woman, she likes to 
wear them. You and I indulge in imported ciga- 
rettes. I guess a man wants his wife to look 
dressy. Mabel makes a better appearance than 
many a woman with a fortune to draw against. 

Chester 

She knows how, you see. When a woman can 

do that 

Elkins 

(interrupting) 

Her husband has a pudding, eh.'^ 

Chester 

Well, that's one way of expressing it. I sup- 
pose we all have to worry occasionally. Mabel 
knows how all right, and yet our bills do seem 
to keep on getting bigger. But, then, what's a 

[50] 



ACT SECOND 

man for if not to make money? The way we look 
at things to-day, if a man can't make money he's 
no good. I don't mean to say that the best men 
are those that make the most money, but if a man 
can't do it the world thinks there must be some- 
thing the matter with him. You will have to 
buckle down to it one of these days. 

\_The portieres part slowly ^ and 
Myrtle enters. She seems to 
he aware of only Elkins, who 
rises to greet her. Chester 
taTces up an evening paper and 
reads. 



Hello, Myrtle 



Elkins 
(rises) 

Myrtle 



I thought I heard your voice. Mabel will be 
here soon. 

Elkins 

I suppose a crowd is coming to-night. Let's sit 
down here; I've news to tell you. 

[They take seats in a corner. 

[51] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Myrtle 

(excitedly) 

You've won out? 

Elkins 

Better than I expected, Myrtle. And you are 
the first to hear of it. 

Chester 
(still reading) 

I don't count. 

Myrtle 

Of course you don't. Tell me about it, Henry. 

Elkins 

There isn't much to it. I didn't like to tell you 
the details this afternoon. About fifty applica- 
tions were sent in for the job. They were boiled 
down to three, mine being among them. The 
Secretary sent for me^ and while you were waiting 
in Madison Square he put me through the " sweat- 
ing" process. An hour ago I got a Special De- 
livery letter saying I had won out, and I am to 
show up the first of the month. 

[62] 



ACT SECOND 

Chester 

Good for you, Henry. You've got a job in a 
thousand. 

Elkins 

I feel pretty glad myself. You see, I've tried 
to prepare myself for a position like this. I've 
worked hard. I've never felt that the world owed 
me a job, or that pull could get me the right kind 
of one. I've stuck to one thing, and tried to learn 
it thoroughly, and I've not been ashamed to get 
my hands dirty if my brains could profit by it. 
Old What's-his-name said I was pretty young; 
but I have an idea he thought he could make more 
of a young chap willing to learn than of an old 
chap who wanted to have his own way. And he 
was so decent that I got to talking about all I'd 
like to do — the sort of stuff you and I have talked 
about, Myrtle, — and although I guess it was 
rather nervy, he seemed to like it. Anyhow, when 
I got up to go, he put his hand on my shoulder, 
and said : " Stick to your ideals, my boy, through 
thick and thin. They say we Americans are cold 
business men ; but perhaps we are dreamers, after 
all. At heart, we all want to do right, and time 
may prove that our way was best. There is so 

[53] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

much to be accomplished by sticking to our 
ideals." It sort of encouraged me to hear him 
talk like that. And his letter has strengthened 
me in my beliefs. 

Myrtle 

Good again for you, Henry. Thinking right 
is doing right; and the man who does right gets 
there every time. 

Chester 

(folds the paper, rises from his chair, and taJces 
a place behind the young people) 

Old man, all you've said is true. You know, 
I'm no preacher; but you've expressed what thou- 
sands of other men feel, yet can't say. We are 
just as much idealists as men of other nationalities. 
Perhaps more so, because we accomplish greater 
things. And behind the deed there must always 
be the dream. I'm just one of the Great Many, 
whose work it is to act a little part and make 
one person happy; but I've had my dreams, too, 
just as every man on the street has had his. 
When you are as old as I am, may you see in 
your dreams the foundations of your success, and 
may your ideals accompany you into the shadow. 

[54] 



ACT SECOND 

We build for ourselves a perfect future by our 
actions of to-day. 

Myrtle 

I wonder what Mabel would think could she 
hear him talking like that? 

Chester 
She has had her dreams, too. 

Myrtle 
(flippantly) 
Of bridge prizes ! 

Chester 
Of other things, Myrtle. 

Elkins 

Of course she has, and dreams still, I'll wager. 
Take that out of a woman's life and what has she 
left to fall back on? 

Myrtle 

Cards, novels, and gossip, O innocent idealist! 

[56] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

Myrtle is flippant to-night, Henry. Ask her 
if she is never guilty of dreaming along with the 
rest of us. 

Myrtle 

The rest of us ! You evidently include yourself 
among the Chosen Few. Yet all you do when 
you come home is to read the paper and talk 
small-talk with Mabel. I've never caught you 
with a magazine in your hand, much less a book. 
Your dreams aren't the real article, John. 



Elkins 

(as Chester, making a gesture of impatience, 
walks away from them) 

Now you've made him mad. Judge not that 
ye be not judged. Myrtle. We are all dreamers, 
I guess, because we are always wishing for some- 
thing we cannot get. 

[The door is opened hy Erminie, 
who amnounces Mr. Wall. Mr. 
Wall enters. Erminie retires, 
closing the door, 

[66] 



ACT SECOND 

Wall 

(advancing to shake hands with MyrtleJ 

Good-evening, everybody. Miss Myrtle, I want 
to congratulate you on your article on " The 
Old Ideal " in last week's Academy. I have just 
read it at the Club. When you are a woman of 

thirty 

Myrtle 

(interrupting ) 
Horrors ! 

Wall 

When you are a woman of thirty may you still 
have the same views, and may every editor in the 
country ask you to express them. 

Chester 

More horrors ! No, I didn't mean that. We 
are very proud of Myrtle. She has said what I 
think but cannot express. 

Wall 

(seating himself ) 

And the trouble with so many men is that they 
say what they think, but don't think very deeply. 
How's that, Elkins ? You seem quiet this evening. 

[57] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Myetle 
Wrapped in his dreams. 

Chester 

No, he isn't. He landed that position a few 
hours ago, and 

Wall 

(interrupting) 

Then I congratulate you, too, my boy. Your 
foot is on the first rung of the ladder, and it's an 
important day. 

Elkins 

Thanks. But I was thinking of Myrtle's arti- 
cle. It was fine, wasn't it.? I wish I could write 
like that. I have plenty of good thoughts, but 
I've never been able to put them down on paper. 
They get as far as my finger-tips, and then seem 
to vanish. Myrtle is a genius. 

Myrtle 

Only sane, Henry. I got a lot of my ideas 
from hearing you talk. 

[58] 



ACT SECOND 

Chester 

Where's Mabel? Why doesn't she come in? 
Guess I'll go after her. 

[Rises from his chair and is goi/ng 
towards the portieres, hut 
Myrtle intercepts him. 

Myrtle 
Don't bother her, John. She will be here soon. 

Chester 

Why, is anything the matter? She seemed de- 
pressed at dinner. That letter must have upset 
her. 

Myrtle 

No. It was probably an invitation to some- 
thing or other. I will go and tell her we have 
a guest. 

Wall 

(rising) 

Oh, don't trouble her, Miss Myrtle. Mrs. 
Chester won't consider me a visitor. Please let 
me drop in again. 

[59] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

No, no. Sit down, Wall. She will be here 
directly. (^Myrtle goes out through the por- 
tieres.) Besides, we expect Miss Florriwell. She 
rang up Myrtle an hour ago and said she was 
coming. 

Elkins 

(helps himself to a cigarette) 

Then we are in for it. Stay, Wall, and help 
us out. 

Wall 

(takes his seat again) 

Another case of a good woman with nothing 
to do. The microbe appears to be catching, al- 
though Miss Florriwell tries to interest herself 
in things. In every house where I visit, the 
servant question seems to be paramount, and I 
wonder why women won't give their attention to 
the settling of that question rather than want 
to mix up in politics. With troubles in the home, 
I doubt if we shall ever have perfection outside 
of it. However, I don't let it bother me very 
much. 

[60] 



ACT SECOND 

Chester 
My wife keeps out of it. A little too much 
society and bridge, perhaps; but I'd sooner have 
her do that than interest herself in the City Hall. 

Wall 

(deliberately) 

And yet, if I were married (with emphasis), if 

I were married I should prefer to have my wife 

interested in good government rather than in 

bridge. 

Elkins 
My views exactly. She might help in the one, 
but she could never change society. 

Wall 
I don't mind the society part of it so much. 
We are all social animals, more or less ; but when 
a man's wife plays cards she is flirting with the 
devil. 

Chester 

You mean if she plays for stakes, and big 
money at that.'* 

Wall 

I mean just what I said — if she plays cards. 
It is only a matter of time for the stakes to fol- 

[61] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

low. Given the opportunity, the best of women 
will gamble. The law of chances is in favor of 
losses rather than gains ; and if I were married — 
I state the conditions, you see — I would prefer 
to know that my wife had never owed man or 
woman, even in a friendly way, so small a sum as 
a dollar. 

Chester 

A trifling debt, my dear fellow, and easily paid. 

Wall 

Sometimes, and sometimes not so easily. It is 
not so much the amount as the principle involved. 
(Rising.) Ah ! the ladies ! 

\While he is speaking the portieres 
part, and Mrs. Chester and 
Myrtle appear together, their 
arms about each other. Mrs. 
Chester looks anxiously at all 
in, the room, and apparently 
evades the glance of Wall. 
At the same moment the door 
is opened by Erminie, and Miss 
Florriwell is announced. Miss 
Florriwell enters, and the 
men rise. 

[62] 



ACT SECOND 

Mrs. Chester 

(goes forward quickly to greet her) 

My dear Ann ! I am so glad to see you. You 
must take off your hat. 

Miss Florriwell 

No, Mabel. I have just come in for a few 
minutes. (Turning to Myrtle and kissing her.) 
Really to see this child. 

[Chester and Elkins approach 
and shake hands with her; Wall 
hows from where he standsy also 
to Mrs. Chester, who now sees 
him. Elkins gives Miss Florri- 
well a chair J and all are seated. 

Wall 

I came over on the same mission, Miss Florri- 
well. She has accomplished something. Mrs. 
Chester, what have you to say about your sister's 
work.'* 

Mrs. Chester 

To tell the truth, I have not yet read the article. 
But Myrtle understands. Whatever she does is 
right. And she is brighter than the rest of us. 

[63] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Myrtle 
No brighter, Mabel. More interested, perhaps. 

Wall 

The outlook is indeed hopeful when young 
people interest themselves in reform. Personally, 
I have rather given up hope. Things seem at 
sixes and sevens, pretty much mixed. But, then, 
I belong to the Old School. 

Miss Florriwell 

And the Old School created the problems which 
the New School must solve. Myrtle thinks she 
belongs to the Old School because she defends 
some of the olden ways. But at heart she is 
New School. 

Elkins 

The old order changeth. If only a few more 
would see things as we see them. Miss Florriwell, 
this would be a better world for all of us. Of 
course, I'm young, and all that; but I believe in 
expressing one's views, altering them from time 
to time as one progresses, and continually looking 
forward to the better day ahead. 

[64] 



ACT SECOND 

Chester 

Good boy, Henry. The rest of us will jog 
along in the well-worn ruts so that the world's 
equilibrium won't be upset. (He picks up the 
paper again and glances over it.) I wonder if 
your appointment will appear in to-morrow's 
paper? This is a late edition. It all seems to 
be about the fight. 

[While he is speaking, Elkixs 
leaves his seat and glances over 
Chester's shoulder at the paper. 
Miss Florriwell moves to a 
chair beside Myrtle, who has 
taken a magazine off the table 
to show to her. Wall, who 
has risen, takes a seat beside 
Mrs. Chester. Miss Florri- 
WELL and jNIyrtle engage in 
subdued conversation, and El- 
kins points out a paragraph to 
Chester. 

Wall 
(to Mrs. Chester j 

You received my notc.^^ 

[65] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Chester 

Yes, but not until dinner time. Couldn't you 
have told me about it this afternoon? 

Wall 
The opportunity did not present itself. 

Mrs. Chester 
Please do not raise your voice. 

Wall 

(looVmg around) 

The others cannot hear us. Needless to say, I 
regret what has happened. 

Mrs. Chester 
And yet you take sides against me ? 

Wall 

Because I think I can serve you best by so 
doing. I am also a friend of Mrs. Morton, you 
know. 

Mrs. Chester 

I must have been crazy last Tuesday. 

[66] 



ACT SECOND 

Wall 

Mrs. Morton evidently does not think so. She 
claims she loaned you this money in response to 
a business-like request on your part. She says 
you undertook to pay it the day following. Ac- 
cording to her statement you promised this dis- 
tinctly. Think back. Was it so? 

\_In the few seconds she is trying to 
recollect, the voices of Miss 
Florriwell and Myrtle are 
heard. 

Myrtle 

Some of the ideas may seem ' old-fashioned to 
you. 

Miss Florriwell 

No, my dear; and even if they were they would 
not be hurtful to anything the New Woman ad- 
vocates. The ideal remains the same, whether 
old or new. 

[Mrs. Chester passes her hand 
across her eyes. The other 
women return to their maga- 
zine. 

[67] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mes. Chester 

I cannot remember having said that. I think 
I promised to repay the money during the month. 

Wall 

Er — excuse me — had you taken anything to 
drink ? 

Mes. Chestee 
Only 

Wall 

(interrupting and raising his hand) 

Thank you. That is all I wanted to know. I 
will call to-morrow at eleven if I may, and see you 
when we can talk. This matter must be arranged, 
and I think we can do so without bothering 
Chester. 

Mes. Chestee 

I wish I dared tell him. 

[68] 



ACT SECOND 

Wall 

It may not be necessary. 

[Mrs. Chester is about to reply, 
when a ring at the telephone 
is heard. Mrs. Chester makes 
a gesture of fear. Chester 
leaves the room, closing the 
door. 

Myrtle 

(who has looked up) 

Why, Mabel! You are as pale as a ghost. 
Aren't you well, dear.? 

[Myrtle leaves Miss Florriwell, 
and goes over to her sister. 
Wall rises and chats with 
Elkins. 

Mrs. Chester 
The room is rather warm. I am all right now. 

Miss Florriwell 

You had better let me take you for a short ride 
in my electric. The night is delightful. 

[69] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Chester 

I am all right now, Ann. What were you and 
Myrtle talking about.? 

Myrtle 

The old subject, dear. There, you do look 
better. 

Mrs. Chester 
Yes, I am better again. 

Elkins 

Too much society, Mabel. You want to rest 
up for a time. It is wearing you out. We only 
live once, you know. 

Wall 
Then shouldn't we get out of it all we can? 

Miss Florriwell 
All that's good, you mean. 

Mrs. Chester 
I wonder what keeps John so long .J* 

[70] 



ACT SECOND 

Myrtle 
Now you look worried again! 

Elkins 

He is all business, you know. Someone is 
probably asking him the price of Union Pacific. 

Myrtle 

(jokingly) 

Or your milliner, dear. 

[They all laugh. 

Wall 

Milliners never telephone. They call. 

[Chester enters. They all look 
at him with the exception of 
Mrs. Chester. Her hand goes 
to her heart. 

Myrtle 
Bills, John? 

Chester 
(going to his old chair) 

No. The Stetsons (^Mrs. Chester starts 

to her feet; Chester looks at her.) Why ! What 

[71] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

is the matter, dear? You are terribly nervous 
to-night. 

Mrs. Chester 

No, no ; nothing. What about the Stetsons, 
John ? 

Chester 

Hazelton rang me up to tell me he hears Stetson 
has been pushed to the wall. It was kept out of 
the evening editions, but the morning papers will 
have it. (Mrs. Chester sits down again, stari/ng 
ahead of her.) It doesn't affect me. 

Wall 
A good fellow. 

Chester 

Yes, a mighty good fellow. A little too fond of 
going with the swell crowd. Good entertainer. 
But hardly a safe man. I am sorry for him. We 
have been friends for years. 

Miss Florriwell 
It will be hardest on the wife. 

Elkins 
They have been lavish spenders. 

[72] 



ACT SECOND 

Chester 
Well, it may prove the making of them. 

Mrs. Chester 
Be charitable, John. 

Chester 

I'm charitable enough. All Stetson has had to 
do for the last fifteen years is to grind out dollars 
for his wife to spend. He has scraped and 
schemed summer and winter to keep her on the 
Riviera or out in California, and she has played 
ducks and drakes with his money. Considering 
what some women seem to expect of their hus- 
bands, it is a wonder to me that more of us don't 
land in the penitentiary. 

Myrtle 
He's giving it to you, Mabel. 

Chester 

Mabel is a good wife. She has helped me, and 
she hasn't squandered what little I have made. 
(Mrs. Chester's hand again goes to her heart.) 
When our day comes we shall enjoy life together. 

[73] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Miss Florriwell 

The spending woman is the natural result of 
the pampered woman. In time, American women 
will become the helpmeets of men, just as the 
French and German women are the helpmeets of 
their husbands to-day. 

Elkins 
God bless the Elsas and Gretchens. 

Mrs. Chester 
Is there no way of saving the Stetsons, John.'* 

Chester 

(lighting a cigarette) 

Not that I can see. That's the way in business. 
Up to-day, down to-morrow. 

Wall 

The trouble is that when one goes down so 
many are dragged down with him. 

Elkins 

Innocent people. I know. We lost our money 
that way. 

[74] 



ACT SECOND 

Chester 

Well, it's only business. The statistics show 
that seventy-seven and one-half per cent, of busi- 
ness ventures are failures. So far, I'm among 
the successful. But, then, I'm cautious, and 
Mabel isn't foolish. 

Mrs. Chester 

Poor things ! They will have to give up every- 
thing. 

Chester 

I doubt if Stetson saved anything. He made 
money, and his wife spent it. It is the American 
way, and those who do otherwise are the excep- 
tions. 

Miss Florriwell 

(to MyrtleJ 

Now, dear, you see why I believe in woman's 
cause, in any move that will give a woman greater 
freedom. With freedom she will think ; and when 
she thinks she will no longer drive the man she 
loves to the brink of desperation, nor will she 
endanger the fortunes of her children, in the 
gratification of her personal vanity. 

[75] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Myrtle 

Our mothers were sane; the old ideals are my 
ideals. 

Miss Florriwell 

But conditions have changed, Myrtle. Life 
was simpler years ago, and the men of those days 
had less to contend with. Wives were ornaments ; 
but to-day they are no longer satisfied to be classed 
along with the bric-a-brac. They want to be of 
service — I am speaking of true women, of course; 
they want to make life better; they want to re- 
move pitfalls from the paths of the children, and 
prove themselves mates for the men they love. 
The woman of curls and patches has disappeared, 
and men should be the last to want her back again. 

Elkins 

And yet what an influence she exerted in her 
own quiet way. She was queen in the dining- 
room, mistress in the kitchen, and 

Wall 

(interrupting) 

Mother in the nursery, eh.^^ No allowance be- 
ing made in the architectural plans of the modern 

[76] 



ACT SECOND 

flat for the nursery, I suppose it is our way of 
suggesting that motherhood is no longer consid- 
ered proper. 

Miss Floeriwell 

Her influence was not always for good. Women 
knew that men considered them his inferior, and 
they took advantage of him whenever possible. 

Myetle 
And now? 

Miss Floeriwell 

And now that she is considered his equal she no 
longer takes advantage of him; she would work 
side by side with him for the good of the many. 

Mrs. Chester 
I am still thinking of the Stetsons. 

Chester 

No use in worrying, Mabel. The piper has to 
be paid, you know. For a short whirl in society, 
many a family has had to live in penury. And I 
doubt if we shall ever learn by the folly of others. 

[77] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 
You had no dealings with Stetson? 

Chester 

Never. We were good friends, but I always 
thought his methods too risky. About a month 
ago he wanted to use my Pennsylvanias, and 
offered a good premium. But I said no. I'm 
glad I was cautious. 

Wall 

Well, you are fortunate. Had you given them 
to him you would have been a poor man to-night. 

[Mrs. Chester starts. 

Myrtle 

Don't talk of such a thing. It gives one the 
creeps. 

Elkins 
You wouldn't get that electric, Mrs. Chester. 

Miss Florriwell 

Or your trip abroad. 

[78] 



ACT SECOND 

AIrs. Chester 

(pleadmgly) 

John is not the sort to be easily discouraged. 
Suppose we had lost everything, dear; suppose 
we were as poor as the Stetsons, would you care 
very much? 

Chester 

(irritably) 

Hear the woman talk! What are we here for 
if not to play the game? And the stakes are 
success and money, aren't they? I've played the 
game, and I've been fairly successful. But one 
doesn't make a stake easily. Of course I'd care. 
So would you care when you had to cut out your 
luncheons and dinners, cut out theaters and pretty 
dresses, and live on next to nothing a week. 
Let'si change the subject or I'll have a nightmare 
to-night. 

Mrs. Chester 

(as if to herself ). 

Poor Mrs. Stetson. It's all so terrible. 
[Chester makes a gesture of irri- 
tability. 

[79] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Myrtle 
I wish the old days would come back. 

Elkins 
Side curls and patches? 

Myrtle 

Anything rather than this continuous battle 
called modem business. 

Wall 
Miss Myrtle is an idealist. 

Miss Florriwell 

And perhaps it was intended we should be ideal- 
ists. Some of us women still think so, and we 
are doing our best to make society saner. All 
over the world the cry is the same, and unless 
something is done there will be a swift ending of 
our civilization. 

Chester 

I don't see that women can change things much. 

Miss Florriwell 

They have the interests of the nation as much 
at heart as have men. Give them the opportunity 

[80] 



ACT SECOND 

and you will find them capable aids in securing 
honest legislation ; enlarge the field of their activi- 
ties and you will no longer see them wasting their 
time on bridge or social frivolity. An auto ride 
will no longer seem the most satisfactory way of 
spending an afternoon. The novel-reading woman 
is out of style ; the card-playing woman is worse, 
and, to get rid of her, you must find useful and 
honorable occupation for her and her sisters. 

Mrs. Chester 

Dear Ann, we are not all willing, neither are we 
all capable. What could I do, for instance.'* 

Miss Florriwell 

There are more things than one a woman can 
do. If she is not interested in the things I am 
interested in, there is plenty else to keep her busy. 
And not the least useful thing a married woman 
can do is to raise her own sons and daughters 
that they develop into good Americans. A true 
mother should no more be willing to leave her 
children to the care of the nurse than her dinner 
to the choice of the cook. 

Elkins 
Good for you. Miss Florriwell. Mrs. Chester 
knows that what you say is right; but, like the 

[81] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

rest of us, she likes to be reminded occasionally 
of the truth. 

Wall 

Modern society is no less a failure than was 
monasticism. The latter was incapable of action, 
and died a natural death; society never thinks, 
and is therefore doomed. But I doubt if it will 
ever be other than what it is. 

Elkins 
The younger generation is coming along. 

Myrtle 
And the younger generation is for progress. 

Wall 
How about the old ideals? 

Myrtle 

They are good enough. It is only modem 
methods that are unsatisfactory. 

Miss Florriwell 

And even the ideals are to be changed somewhat. 
Fifty years ago you would have had to sit silently 

[82] 



ACT SECOND 

in a corner. Your article in the Academy would 
never have appeared. You would have played 
croquet instead of golf; Byron would have been 
your favorite author instead of Tolstoy. Where 
the ideals remain unchanged, progress is impos- 
sible. 

Myrtle 

We mean one and the same thing, but we express 
our thoughts differently. 



Chester 

And, say what you will, life remains a pretty 
serious proposition. Especially married life. 
What do you young people know about it.? Your 
bills are paid; for you there is no Servant Ques- 
tion, and you don't have to argue with the plumber 
or the gardener. 

Myrtle 

(loftily) 

When we do, perhaps we shall reason with 
them. There is a difference, you know, in the 
two methods. 

[83] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

It is good to be hopeful, anyhow. Youth is 
too enthusiastic ; Age is too disgruntled. It is 
only the Man of Forty who sees life as it really is. 

Mrs. Chester 

But a woman always sees it as it might be. 
Whether we are New Women, or just ordinary 
Women, we always retain the ^ream power. And 
we guard it as the virgins guarded the flame in 
the silent temples of Vesta. 

Myrtle 
Quite a flight for Mabel! 

Chester 

But Mabel speaks like a true woman. Her 
ideas may not be yours. Myrtle, nor yours. Miss 
Florriwell; but fundamentally you all agree. My 
views of life are different from those of Henry; 
making money is apt to make one practical. Yet 
he and I agree when it comes to ethics, even if it 
is sometimes impossible for me to act according 
to my beliefs. You may not find Tennyson ly- 
ing around an ofBce ; but if poets were the only 
readers of poetry and good literature, the pub- 
lishers would soon be where our friends the Stet- 

[ 84 ] 



ACT SECOND 

sons are. By Jove, it's too bad about them, 
wish I could help him. 



Elkin 



^^s 



It takes brains to appreciate brains. Our men 
are shrewd enough to see the good in everything; 
and they have warm hearts. 

Miss Florriwell 

That is why we feel sure of winning our fight. 
The American is the best man in the world. He 
knows that freedom and equality have made him 
what he is; have made America what it is. And 
he will be the last to deny that freedom and 
equality to his women. . We have no fear of the 
outcome. 

IShe rises. Mrs. Chester and the 
men also rise. 

Elkins 

(enthusiastically ) 
You bet! 

Wall 

Miss Florriwell will let me see her to her door? 

[85] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Miss Florriwell 

I came in my electric, but you can accompany 
me if you are going. (To Mrs. Chester. J I 
only ran in for a minute, Mabel ; and I had almost 
forgotten to tell you I have decided to leave for 
Sicily in a few days. The house will be closed 
while I am away. But I shall see you all again. 
I expect to be away fully six months. 

[While she is speakings Wall 
whispers a few words to Mrs. 
Chester, bows to Myrtle, and 
then opens the door and goes 
out, Chester accompanies hiniy 
leaving Elkins, Myrtle, Mrs. 
Chester, and Miss Florriwell 
in the room. 

Mrs. Chester 
I shall miss you, Ann. 

Elkins 

Miss Florriwell will spread American ideals in 
Sicily. Be sure you take the flag along with you, 
Miss Florriwell. 

[86] 



ACT SECOND 

Myrtle 
And wave it occasionally. 

Miss Florriwell 

Trust an American woman to do that, my dear. 
And when I get back I will tell you whether 
Tennyson was as true a prophet as he was poet, 
when he said that the old order changeth. I 
cannot imagine a Sicilian ever changing. Good- 
by, Mr. Elkins. 

[^She moves to the door, accomr 

panied hy Myrtle and Mrs. 

Chester, whose arm is about 

her. Elkins remains hy the 

fireplace. 

Mrs. Chester 

I shall miss you very much. But the change 
will do you good. I hope we shall all be here 
when you return. 

Miss Florriwell 

Of course you will, dear; how silly to think of 
such a thing. 

[The three women go out. A few 
seconds later. Myrtle returns. 

[87] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Myrtle 
(goes over to ElkinsJ 
Oh, Henry! I can't tell you how glad I am. 

Elkins 
Why? That she is going? 

Myrtle 

About your success, of course. How dull some 
people are! You must be sleepy. 

l^She takes a seat, while Elkins 
stands over her. 

Elkins 

I knew. I was only teasing. Life begins on 
Monday. Just think! It's all ahead. Say, 
Myrtle, it's too bad about the Stetsons, isn't it? 
Sort of gives me the blues. 

Myrtle 
Perhaps things will come out all right. 

Elkins 
I guess not. Mabel seemed to be worrying too. 

[88] 



ACT SECOND 
Myrtle 

She visited there a great deal. Personally, I 
don't care much for them. They are ostentatious 
people. And yet I'm sorry for Mrs. Stetson. 

Elkins 

It's too bad that business so often ends that 
way. I guess Stetson had his " first day " once 
upon a time. He had his hopes and his ambitions ; 
and even if he isn't exactly our kind, he is a 
human being. His wife was a girl once, like you, 
Myrtle; and they built their air castles just like 
the rest of us. I don't believe in the survival of 
the fittest doctrine. All should have our sympa- 
thy. When one fails, the progress of the race is 
hindered. Ghee! I'm sorry for him. 

Myrtle 

You are a dear boy, Henry. I don't know 
why, but I feel it is going to affect us, too. 

Elkins 

I don't see why. John doesn't owe him money. 
I know of quite a few, though, who invested their 

[89] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

all with him. The morning papers will be bad 
reading. 

Myrtle 

But do you know what day it will be? 

Elkins 

Your birthday, kid. No amount of bad news 
can spoil that day. 

Myrtle 
(sighing) 
I shall soon be ancient. 

Elkins 

It was only yesterday I used to swing you! 
You aren't fully grown yet. You are a baby 
compared to me. 

[Chester and Mrs. Chester enter. 

Myrtle 
Indeed! I like that. 

Mrs. Chester 

Quarreling? 

[90] 



ACT SECOND 

Myrtle 

Henry hasn't proper respect for my years. On 
the eve of my birthday, too. 

[^Thej/ seat themMlves, except El- 
kins, who remams leaning over 
Myrtle's chair. 

Chester 
Sit down, Henry, and have another cigarette. 

Elkins 

No, I must be going. Shall I call for you in 
the morning. Myrtle.? 

Myrtle 

Miss riorriwell wants us to take lunch with her. 
Let us go to the Park first. I wonder what the 
Stetsons are doing. I wish I could help them. 

Chester 

Probably preparing an inventory of their things. 
I think everything was in his name. 

Mrs. Chester 
She had property of her own. 

[91] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

Yes ; but she made it over to him. I guess they 
will be dead broke this time. Something may turn 
up to save them, but it isn't likely. They will 
be poor. 

Elkins 

(going to the door) 

Well, good-night. Be glad you have a cautious 
husband, Mabel. Ghee! it must be hard to have 
had everything, and then lose it. I'd rather be 
poor from the beginning. 

Myrtle 

Poverty isn't so bad if one has a clear con- 
science, is it, Henry .^ I never want to be one of 
the spenders. 

Chester 
Love in a cottage, eh, Myrtlcf* 

Mrs. Chester 

Better that than worry in a palace. 

[92] 



ACT SECOND 

Elkins 

Or in an apartment. I'm going. 

[^As he opens the door. Myrtle 
rises and follows him out. 

Mrs. Chester 
Did you get any particulars, John.'' 

Chester 

No. Hazelton merely said he had heard the 
news about seven o'clock, and that it wouldn't 
appear till to-morrow. But don't go worrying 
about it. We get used to that on 'Change. It's 
the see-saw that makes it so interesting. Nothing 
surprises me any more. 

Mrs. Chester 

Would it be possible for you to lose your money, 
John .'' 

Chester 

No. I don't gamble. At least, I use good 
judgment. Stetson went for other people's cash 
like a wolf for the blood of unprotected sheep. 

[93] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Mrs. Chestee 
And they will be ruined? 

Chester 

Sure thing. It's like the game of Follow my 
Leader, only when the leader makes money he 
manages to keep it. 

Mrs. Chester 
And you have managed to keep it.'^ 

Chester 

Just so. I don't see why you are so worked 
up over the matter. 

Mrs. Chester 
But suppose we lost our money.'* 

Chester 

Impossible. That block of Pennsylvania is 
enough to keep us in comfort, let alone what I 
make on the side. 

Mrs. Chester 
But just suppose? 

[94] 



ACT SECOND 

Chester 
(testili/) 
Oh, you women are always supposing. Don't 
suppose anything of the sort. Every time you 
look at your diamonds in the safe, give the en- 
velope marked " Pennsylvania " a pat, and — don't 
worry. Leave that to me. 

[Myrtle enters. She gives Mrs. 
Chester a white envelope. 

Myrtle 

As Henry was going, a messenger boy brought 
this for you, Mabel. 

Mrs. Chester 
(looks at the inscription) 
It is from Mrs. Stetson. 

Chester 

(lighting a cigar) 

Probably wants to borrow a thousand. 

[Mrs. Chester opens the envelope 
and reads. Chester takes up 
the newspaper; Myrtle picks 
up a book and sits down in an 
armchair. 

[95] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Chester 

(looking straight ahead of her) 

No. She is coming to see me to-morrow. That 
is all she says. 



(curtain) 



[96] 



ACT III 

Same as Act II. It is the following morning, 
Mrs. Chester and Wall are seated on opposite 
sides of a table, on which there are a vase of long- 
stemmed roses and a few hooks, 

Mrs. Chester 

I could not talk last night. I received your 
letter just as we were sitting down to dinner and, 
of course, I have been upset ever since. 

Wall 

The unpleasant is not calculated to — er — settle 
one's nerves. 

Mrs. Chester 

But this is so unexpected. I am sure I never 
promised Mrs. Morton to give her back the money 
at a moment's notice. 

Wall 

Probably not. But I presume that this trouble 
they are in has made it necessary for her to 
collect her debts. Five hundred dollars is a con- 
siderable sum, Mrs. Chester. 

[97] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Mrs. Chester 
It never seemed so to me until now. 

Wall 

It is an extraordinarily large sum for a woman 
to lose at cards. Did you owe that much origi- 
nally to one woman? 

Mrs. Chester 

Oh, no ! To half a dozen, and some of the 
debts were quite old. When I got my allowance, 
it was all needed for bills. Mrs. Morton had a 
lot of ready money; and I happened to tell her 
my debts were worrying me. She offered to lend 
me enough to clear me, and I asked for five 
hundred. 

Wall 

She must be a generous woman. Were there 
no strings to the loan.^^ 

Mrs. Chester 

I was to help her in a social way. 

[98] 



ACT THIRD 

Wall 

Ah! The old story. Will women ever learn 
that certain things are to be bought only at an 
exorbitant price? 

Mrs. Chester 

I don't pretend to look at such things in a 
business light. And Mrs. Morton expects this 
money to be paid right away.? 

Wall 

She certainly does. She claims you promised 
to repay it the next day. As you know, she 
has urgent need of the money. 

Mrs. Chester 

So have I. I have nothing. I cannot pawn 
my jewels. 

Wall 
It is an embarrassing situation. 

Mrs. Chester 

I have next to nothing in my bank. And I owe 
I don't know how much besides. 

[99] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Wall 
I would tell your husband. 

Mrs. Chester 

No ; it would — I He has trusted me in all 

things. If it were a small sum I wouldn't mind. 
But to tell him of this one debt will be to tell 
him of all the others. 

Wall 
They are large? 

Mrs. Chester 

I must owe another five hundred. Small bills 
amount up so. 

Wall 

Still, I would make a clean breast of it to him. 
The bills must be paid. 

Mrs. Chester 

I am allowed a hundred a month for myself, 
and in time I can settle them. But I can't pay 
Mrs. Morton. I haven't the money. 

[ 100 ] 



ACT THIRD 
Wall 

Then you must ask Chester for it. The Mor- 
tons are being pushed to the wall, and when people 
find themselves in that fix, they get ugly. 

Mrs. Chester 

I'm not responsible for their troubles. I sim- 
ply can't do it. I tell you he has trusted me 
so much. I have never had to ask him for any- 
thing. He has always been so generous with me. 
Too generous. He has always found a way to 
pay for things that I should have paid for. In 
such a deHcate way. Oh! I see it all now. We 
women are like spoiled children. He has treated 
me like a woman, and I have been a foolish child ; 
he made a companion of me when I wasn't worthy 
of it. (She rises, and goes to the fireplace, and 
leans against the mantel.) Oh! it is all wrong. 
One doesn't allow children to play with fire, or 
with razors. And that is what you men are 
doing with us to-day. We are not ready for it. 
I tell you we are not ready for it. And yet you 
men would give us dynamite if we asked for it. 
A woman is cautious only in one thing; and that 
is instinctive. I can't tell him. Not yet. You 
don't know all. 

[101] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 
I know your husband well enough 

Mrs. Chester 
(interrupting) 
No, no; that isn't it. I tell you he is too 
generous. But you don't know all. I can't tell 
him. 

Wall 
But this woman will make trouble for you. 

Mrs. Chester 

Let it come; it's bound to come sooner or later. 
But I can't ask Chester to help me. 

Wall 
(making a gesture of impatience) 

Inconsistency ! No, pardon me, Mrs. Chester. 
I don't mean to be rude. I consider myself an 
old friend. But you are in a mess. You have 
borrowed this money, and it must be paid. If 
you haven't enough to repay it yourself, you 
must tell your husband. I am sufficiently ac- 
quainted with his circumstances to know that he 
will give it to you. He may scold you a little, 
but — pardon me again — I think you deserve it. 

[102] 



ACT THIRD 

Mes. Chester 

Oh! you don't know all. You don't know why 
I can't tell him. You don't know what I have 
done. 

Wall 

He may scold you a little. But it will be 
nothing to him. He has put his money into Penn- 
sylvania bonds. They are negotiable, and 

Mrs. Chester 
(interrupting) 
Oh! that's it! That's it! 

Wall 
(rising) 
Why! what do you mean, Mrs. Chester.'* 

Mrs. Chester 

I took them out of our strong-box, and loaned 
them to Mrs. Stetson the day before yesterday. 

Wall 
(horrified) 
You gave the bonds to the Stetsons! 

[103] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Chester 

To Mrs. Stetson. She was to do me a favor; 
and in return I loaned her the bonds. Mr. Stet- 
son was putting through a deal. She said they 
would not pass out of his hands. He would keep 
them in his safe, and they would enable him to 
do something or other — put this deal through, 
whatever it was. 

Wall 
And Chester? 

Mrs. Chester 

He doesn't know. He thinks the bonds are in 
our strong-box. Now you know. 

Wall 

(sits down heavily) 

Well, you have certainly done it. The Stetsons 
are probably bankrupts by this time. 

Mrs. Chester 
(holding out her hand to him) 
His name wasn't in the list. Isn't there hope? 

[ 104 ] 



ACT THIRD 

Wall 

One firm drags down another. Anyone con- 
nected with Wall Street lives over a mine which 
may explode at any minute. How could you do 
such a thing? 

Mrs. Chester 

Oh ! don't ask me. I was tempted. Our lives 
are beset with temptations. We only think of 
display and false position. It is all we live for. 
And Chester has trusted me, believed in me; held 
me up as a model wife, and been so generous. 
I tell you that a mistress would be more con- 
siderate of her protector's welfare than is many a 
wife! 

Wall 

Now, now, Mrs. Chester; please don't. This 
affair may end all right. You are terribly upset. 
Please take your seat again. I want to talk to 
you. 

Mrs. Chester 

(seats herself opposite Wall^ 

I don't know what to do. 

[105] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

That is what I want to talk to you about. 

[^There is a silence for fully half a 
minute, during which Mrs. 
Chester drums with her fingers 
on the table, and exhibits other 
signs of nervousness. 

Mrs. Chester 
I suppose the end has come. I can do nothing. 

Wall 
No. Perhaps this may be the beginning. 

Mrs. Chester 
It is the end. 

Wall 

Let us get the matter of the bonds straight 
first. It is the most serious. 

Mrs. Chester 

Mrs. Morton's affair worries me most. The 
bonds are ours. 

[106] 



ACT THIRD 

Wall 

I suppose you know that they become the 
property of whoever happens to hold them? 

Mrs. Chester 
(stunned) 
I don't understand. 

Wall 
Bonds are negotiable and non-negotiable. 

Mrs. Chester 
I still don't understand. 

Wall 

(slowly) 

I mean that certain bonds cannot be transferred 
without the signature of their owner; other bonds, 
the negotiable bonds, are like gold. As I said 
before, Chester's bonds were the negotiable kind. 

Mrs. Chester 

But you don't think Mr. Stetson has sold them? 
Mrs. Stetson promised me they wouldn't pass out 
of his possession. 

[107] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

Women's promises are not always to be de- 
pended on, Mrs. Chester. I don't want to 
frighten you, but — well, men are weak, too, you 
know. And 

Mrs. Chester 

(interrupting) 

Oh, my God! The whole thing is awful. 

[^She starts to get up, but Wall 
motions her to keep her seat. 

Wall 

We must just consider it possible that Stetson 
has negotiated them. We don't know that he has 
done so ; but there is always the possibility. You 
had a key to your husband's strong-box.'^ 

Mrs. Chester 
Yes. I keep my jewels there. 



Wall 

Then he can't claim that you- 

[108] 



ACT THIRD' 
Mrs. Chester 
(interrupting) 
Stole them? Oh, spare me that. 

Wall 

(paying no attention to her) 

In a way, I suppose, it was wrong of him to 
have put them there. You are no business woman, 
and it was certainly putting temptation in any- 
one's way. 

Mrs. Chester 

It was in mine. I had no idea of their value 
to anyone but my husband. 

Wall 

I merely asked the question because, supposing 
the bonds to have been negotiable, if Chester 
could prove that they were taken without his 
knowledge or consent, he might be able to recover 
them. But I fear that he would have no case as 
things stand. Your having a key to the box would 
be considered equivalent to a recognition on his 
part of your part ownership of the contents. 
We had better communicate immediately with 
Mrs. Stetson. 

r 109 ] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Chester 

She will be here directly. She sent me a note 
last night saying she wanted to see me. 

Wall 

Then we need not inform Chester of the affair 
until we have seen her. Things may be better 
than I surmise. 

Mrs. Chester 

Oh! I am sure of it. Mrs. Stetson would not 
tell me an untruth. 

Wall 

We will hope not. Now let us get down to the 
other matter, the money you owe Mrs. Morton. 

Mrs. Chester 
Will this morning never end.'^ 

Wall 

You should have thought of this morning many 
days ago. When women think of consequences 
of trivial actions there will be fewer tragedies in 
the lives of men — and in their own. But, there! 

[110] 



ACT THIRD 

I don't want to preach, Mrs. Chester. I want 
to help jou. I want to do something for you. 

Mrs. Chester 
I don't see how you can. 

Wall 

You must be out of Mrs. Morton's hands by 
this afternoon. 

Mrs. Chester 
Well.? 

Wall 

If this bond matter hadn't occurred, I would 
have insisted on you telling your husband of your 
debt before I left this room. It would have been 
the only way. But he will have worries enough 
now. This money must be paid to Mrs. Morton, 
and you must let me advance it to you. 

Mrs. Chester 
(starting) 
Oh, no, Mr. Wall. I cannot do that. 

[Ill] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

(coldly) 

You must let me advance this money to you, and 
you must satisfy Mrs. Morton. She is not the 
kind to whom you can owe money. 

Mrs. Chester 

But Oh, Mr. Wall! You are very kind, 

but I cannot accept this from you. 

Wall 

I shall insist upon it. (He puts his hand in 
Jus coat pocket and extracts a wallets and 
smilingly continues.) See! I came prepared! 

Mrs. Chester 

Oh, no! You are very good. But I cannot 
let you do this for me. I cannot accept money 
from you. I got myself into trouble, and I must 
get myself out of it. 

Wall 

Let me turn this (holding up the wallet) over 
to Mrs. Morton. You will oblige me. 

\^He lays the wallet on the table; 
rises, smells the roses, and ex- 
tracts one of them from the vase. 

[112] 



ACT THIRD 
Mrs. Chester 

Oh! Please don't press the matter. I cannot 
do it, Mr. Wall. 

Wall 

(smelling the rose) 

Women are just flowers to me, Mrs. Chester; 
something to be taken care of and protected by 
all decent men. I have never plucked or harmed 
one wantonly. You can use this money (he lays 
the rose in front of her) without fear. 

Mrs. Chester 

I — I am sure of it, Mr. Wall. I appreciate 
very much what you would do. But I shall 
come out of it somehow or other. 

Wall 

I do not see how, unless you ask Chester for 

the money. And it is possible that 

[He hesitates. 

Mrs. Chester 

That we may be ruined, you mean.'' 

[113] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 
Exactly. 

Mrs. Chester 

Oh! oh! It is terrible. 

\_She covers her face with her hands. 
Wall replaces the wallet in his 
pocket, walks over to the wvn- 
dow, and looks out. He speaks 
with his back turned to her. 

Wall 

Look here, Mrs. Chester. You must take this 
money ; or, rather, let me turn it over to Mrs. 
Morton for you. The debt must be off your 
shoulders. Oh! (He holds aside the curtain.) 
Mrs. Stetson is leaving her house. She is coming 
this way, and on foot. (He turns around, but 
as Mrs. Chester's back is turned to him, she cart- 
not see him. He speaks hurriedly.) Look here, 
you can take it, and forget it until you can repay 
it. I have been your friend for years ; I have 
been Chester's friend. (^Mrs. Chester picks up 
the rose.) I have eaten his bread. I have some- 
thing of the Arab in me; my friend is not to be 
taken advantage of. You must please accept this 
money. I can afford it. 

[114] 



ACT THIRD 

Mes. Chester 
(turning so as to see him) 
I think you are very generous. 

Wall 

You and Chester have both helped me in ways 
I cannot explain. You have taken me into your 
home. And — you will let me do this for you, will 
you.? 

Mrs. Chester 

I will. (She turns from him.) God knows 
when I shall repay you. 

IShe puts the rose to her lips. 

Wall 

(still standing by the window) 

Mrs. Stetson will be here in a minute. You 
will soon know everything. If the bonds are safe 
there will be no need of my aid. Chester may 
give you a scolding, and that will be all. But, 
look here! I want you to promise one thing. 
Will you.? 

Mrs. Chester 

(after a pause of several seconds) 

What is it.? 

[115] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

Cut out playing cards for money. However 
small the stakes, one is apt to get beyond one's 
depth. And if it's dangerous for a man, it is 
doubly so for a woman. Will you promise .?* 

Mrs. Chester 

I promise. This has been a lesson to me. 

[Enter Erminie. Mrs. Chester 
lays down the rose. Wall re- 
mains hy the window. 

Erminie 

Mrs. Stetson, ma'am. 

[Mrs. Stetson enters. Erminie 
retires, and closes door. 

Mrs. Stetson 

(advancing to embrace Mrs. Chester, who has 

risen) 
My dear ! I wished to speak to you. Oh ! I am 
a very wretched woman. 

Mrs. Chester 
(consoling her) 
No, no! Don't talk like that, Mrs. Stetson. 
Mr. Wall is here. 

[116] 



ACT THIRD 

Wall 
(bowing to Mrs. StetsonJ 
Perhaps I had better retire, Mrs. Chester? 

Mrs. Stetson 

No, no ! Please remain, Mr. Wall. Perhaps 
you can help me. (^Wall places a chair for her, 
and they all seat themselves.) You have heard 
the news, both of you.'^ 

Wall 

Nothing authentic, Mrs. Stetson. Your hus- 
band is not badly involved, is he.^^ 

Mrs. Stetson 

Oh! gone, gone; everything is gone. I knew 
very little of his affairs ; nothing, in fact. But 
he telephoned me an hour ago, saying he was 
pushed to the wall, and that everything is gone. 

Mrs. Chester 

But our bonds, Mrs. Stetson.? They are safe, 
aren't they? 

Mrs. Stetson 
(covering her face) 
Oh! my dear; how can I tell you? 

[117] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Chester 
But jou said^ — you promised 

Mrs. Stetson 

Oh! it's awful. Stetson was so confident he 
was going to put some deal through. If stocks 
went up he could have done so. He used the 
bonds, thinking he would treble his money and 
buy them back in a few hours. 

Mrs. Chester 
Oh! 

Mrs. Stetson 

(with a gesture of despair) 

We are ruined; and we have ruined you. 
Stetson only knew it a little while ago. He has 
been trying to get your husband over the 'phone. 
He told me he would come home for a couple of 
hours, and try to catch your husband here at 
lunch time. He is almost distracted. I fear he 
will kill himself. 

Mrs. Chester 

But, Mrs. Stetson, you said the bonds were not 
to pass out of Mr. Stetson's hands! 

[118] 



ACT THIRD 

Mrs. Stetson 

I didn't know. He told me Oh, child, 

pity me! I am heartbroken. I am so ashamed, 
so ashamed! 

Wall 

Pardon me, Mrs. Stetson, are you sure these 
bonds have passed out of Mr. Stetson's possession .^^ 

Mrs. Stetson 
(covering her face) 
Yes, they went to Morton. 

Mrs. Chester 
Oh, my God! 

Wall 

A broker whose methods have always been 
questionable. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Mr. Stetson has had dealings with him for 
years. He thought him honorable. 

Wall 

Well, he is said to be bankrupt now. And you 
say your own money is gone.'* 

[119] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Stetson 

Everything. (To Mrs. Chester. j Oh, my 
dear! I can't ask you to forgive me. But don't 
judge me harshly. If Stetson lives through it 
he will pay your husband every penny. I know 
he will. My money has all gone with his ; but I 
shall help him if I can. Oh ! I will do everything, 
anything. 

Mrs. Chester 

(won over hy her distress) 

Yes, you must be brave now. You must en- 
courage Mr. Stetson. We have paid the price. 
It is very hard, but perhaps some good will 
come of it. God help us all. 



Mrs. Stetson 

Our engagements, of course, are all off. I have 
written to the Ambassador, and the few who were 
to have come to the dinner. The papers will in- 
form the others. It is all terrible! It is all my 
fault. If women only knew how their extrava- 
gances imperil those nearest and dearest to them, 
society might become saner. 

[120] 



ACT THIRD 

Wall 

Well, the first thing we must do is to get hold 
of your husband, Mrs. Chester. He must be told 
about this bond transaction right away. 

Mrs. Stetson 
I dare not meet him. Oh! it is so terrible to 
have done wrong. It burns like fire. I shall 
never rest until this money is repaid. And even 
then the wrong will still have been done. One 
does not shake off the responsibility for one's ill 
deeds by merely paying cash. 

Wall 
It is a pity more people do not think so. 

Mrs. Chester 
Do not think about this any more, Mrs. Stetson, 
until we have told Chester. I am equally culpa- 
ble. Perhaps Mr. Stetson can do something. 
Chester usually gets home about this time. Would 
you like Mr. Wall to see you home, or would 
you prefer to stay here.'^ 

Mrs. Stetson 
(as Wall rises) 
Oh! I will remain here. I must tell him myself. 
I am a wretched woman. 

[121] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

Well, I had better go down town. I will see 
your husband before he leaves his office, Mrs. 
Chester. It will be as well to prepare him, if he 
hasn't heard of the transaction. I will also at- 
tend to that other matter. When you see Stet- 
son, Mrs. Stetson, cheer him up. There's a bright 
side to everything if we only try to find it. Stock- 
brokers expect reverses ; a few days, and they are 
on their feet again, you know. We must see what 
can be done. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Oh! nothing can be done when it is too late. 
The price has to be paid. And the innocent al- 
ways suffer. 

\_The door opens, and Chester en- 
ters. He is smiling, showmg 
that he is entirely unconscious 
of any change in his fortunes. 
He nods to Wall, and his mfey 
but goes directly to where Mrs. 
Stetson is seated. 

Chester 

Now, now, Mrs. Stetson. This is a terrible 
blow. But we must see what can be done. Stet- 



ACT THIRD 

son and I are old friends, jou know, and reverses 
will never alter things between us. 

Mrs. Stetson 
(dazed) 
Oh! you have heard.'* 

Chester 

Why ! Everyone is talking about it. I was 
out all the morning, or I would have rung up 
your husband and cheered him up. What's a 
friend for if he can't do that? 

[Mrs. Chester rises. She leans 
against her cJiair^ "watching her 
husband, as if eager to speaks 
and yet afraid. 

Wall 
I was just going down town to hunt you up. 

Chester 

Stay to lunch instead. We must try to get 
Stetson. 

Mrs. Chester 

But, John ! 

[123] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

(interrupting) 

That's all right, Mabel. Here's our friend, 
Mrs. Stetson, with us. Crying, too. We must 
cheer them both up. (Looks at his wntch.) And 
I have something to say to your husband, Mrs. 
Stetson, which may make him feel better. I have 
done a lot of thinking this morning. 

Mrs. Stetson 
(wonderimgly ) 
And you know everything ? 

Chester 

Everything; and I sympathize, warmly with 
you. 

Mrs. Stetson 

I was afraid to face you. 

Mrs. Chester 
Dear Mrs. Stetson! She has suffered so much. 

Mrs. Stetson 

I was ashamed to enter your house, to meet 
your wife. 

[ i24 ] 



ACT THIRD 

Chester 

Now, Mrs. Stetson ! Mabel is not that sort, 
and neither am I. Reverses come to all of us, 
and that's what brings out the ti^ue man and 
true woman in us. We have known each other — 
why! I hate to say how many years — all of us 
in this room. You, Mabel, and Wall here, all 
remember the day when we didn't have so very 
much, eh.'' We got along well enough then. The 
money, or the loss of it, makes no difference. 

Wall 

That's the fine way of looking at it, old man. 

Mrs. Chester 

(proudly) 
It's John's way. 

Mrs. Stetson 
Oh! I can't believe it. 

Chester 

Nonsense! These things are sent to us to 
bring out the best in us. Perhaps it is the good 
God's way of bringing us closer to one another. 
Just think of it ! Here we are for a few short 

[125] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

years. We hope, and plan, and build; and then 
something knocks the structure to the ground, and 
we mourn amid the ashes. Is that the time for a 
man's friends to forsake him.^^ Never. Would 
you turn against Mabel and me just because we 
were poor.'' Never. And if everyone would only 
help each other, stand by each other in just such 
times as this, what a happy place the world would 
be! 

Mrs. Chester 
Brave John! 

Mrs. Stetson 

Oh, Mr. Chester! It was all my fault. Don't 
blame Richard. He did everything for my sake; 
to make me richer, to buy me jewels, to let me 
take a higher place in society. Don't blame him. 
It was all my fault. 

Chester 
No, no; we won't blame anyone. 

Wali. 
Society itself is to blame, Mrs. Stetson. 

[126] 



1 



ACT THIRD 
Mrs. Stetson 

I am to blame. The individual is responsible. 
(To Chester.^ But don't blame Richard. You 
are so good, but all is over for us. You are so 
kind. 

Chester 

Nonsense. Now I am going to ring up your 
husband. He must be home by this time. 
(Looks at his watch.) It is half-past twelve. 

[While the others remain silent y he 
goes outy closing the door. 
After a pause of a few seconds^ 
the door is opened^ and Erminie 
enters. 

Erminie 

Lunch will be ready in a quarter of an hour, 
ma'am. Will there be guests.'^ 

Mrs. Chester 

Yes, Erminie. Mr. and Mrs. Stetson and Mr. 
Wall will be with us. Miss Myrtle will not be 
here. Leave the door open, please. 

[Erminie goes out, leaving the 
door open. Chester's voice is 
plainly heard. Wall and Mrs. 

[127] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester looh at one another. 
Mrs. Stetson leans forward^ as 
if listening intently. 

Chester 

Ah! Is that you, Stetson? No, no; not a 
word now. Your wife is over here. Yes, yes ; I 
know everything. But not a word now. Come 
over right away. We are waiting for you. I 
have something to say to you both. You will 
come.'' Very well. 

Mrs. Stetson 

He doesn't know! 

[Chester enters the room. He 
stands beside his wife. 

Chester 

There! That is settled. I guess he was glad 
to get away from down town. (To Mrs. Ches- 
ter. J Is Myrtle in.'' 

Mrs. Chester 

No. She and Henry went out to the Park, and 
were to take lunch with Miss Florriwell later. 

[128] 



ACT THIRD 

Chester 

I suppose Henry and Myrtle will be leaving us 
before long. Sit down, Wall. 

IBoth men take seats, 

Mes. Stetson 

Oh! Mr. Chester, do you really know all.'^ Do 

you 

Chester 

(interrupting) 

Everything, my dear Mrs. Stetson. 



Wall 
Mrs. Stetson is worrying- 



Chester 

(interrupting again) 

I know. But don't let us discuss the matter 
until Stetson is here. Mrs. Stetson, let me see 
you take off your hat. Then you will feel that 
you are at home. (^Chester rises.) Just to 
oblige me. (^Mrs. Stetson removes her haty which 
Chester takes from her, placing it on a chair at 
the end of the room.) There! Now we won't 
discuss the subject till Stetson arrives. I feel 

[ 129 ] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

better to-day than I have ever felt before. (The 
others look wonderingly at each other.) Mabel, 
if you felt like I do, you wouldn't need a trip to 
Europe. 

Mrs. Chester 
I want no more trips to Europe, John. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Reverses make new women of us, truly New 
Women. 

Chester 

And, perhaps, my dear lady, these reverses 
teach us that fundamentally all women are good. 
And I know fundamentally all men are good. 
Thank God! I have the opportunity to prove 
it. 

Wall 
How, old man.'' 

Chester 

That is my secret. Even Mabel (he stroJces 
his wife^s cheek) does not know it. 

[130] 



ACT THIRD 
Mrs. Chester 
(passionately) 
You don't know what 

Chester 

(interrupting ) 

Not a word, dear, until Stetson comes. He will 
be here directly. I feel like a man who has 
awakened from a long sleep, a sleep of night- 
mares. Wall, did you ever stop to consider that 
we are living a life of pretense and sham? The 
more we pretend, the more we pile on the sham, 
the greater the haiTn we do our fellow-men, and 
the greater the harm we do ourselves. 

Wall 

I think you said last night it was all in the 
game ? 

Chester 

Yes, but I was blind then. I didn't know. It 
is amazing how clearly a man can see the right 
when once he takes the trouble to open his eyes. 
It is only since this morning that I know what 
it means to be my brother's keeper. My life has 

[131] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

been three parts sham. I have thought only of 
myself. I have feathered my nest, as they say. 
I have called myself a Christian ; gone to church 
on Sundays, and forgotten my fellow-men the rest 
of the week. (He addresses Mrs. Stetson. J 
Mrs. Stetson, since this morning my eyes have 
been opened and, thank God! I am blind no 
longer. Ah ! here he comes. 

[Stetson enters^ looking haggard 
and hunted. He is picking at 
his fingernails. He looks hur- 
riedly/ at those present^ then his 
eyes rest on Chester as if fas- 
cinated hy him. He stops pick- 
ing at his nails, and his left 
hand moves nervously to his 
mouth, then to the lapels of his 
coat, then hack to his mouth. 
He takes a few steps forward, 
and stops irresolutely. The 
others are all facing him, except 
Mrs. Stetson, who is looking 
away. 



Mrs. Chester 
Oh! 

[ 132 ] 



ACT THIRD 

Chester 

(going forward heartily, with his hand 
outstretched) 

Stetson, old friend, I am glad to see you. 

Stetson 

(putting his hand half forward, then withdrawing 
ity and speaking with irresolution) 

You — you want to — to see me? 

Chester 

Give me your hand. You needn't be afraid 
of me, of Mabel. This makes no difference be- 
tween us. Give me your hand ! 

Stetson 

(gives hiin his hand) 

I did not know you had heard all. I have been 
trying to 'phone you all morning. 

Chester 

Bad news travels quickly. If men would only 
report the other man's successes instead of his 
failures, it would be much better. 

[133] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Stetson 

I — ^I am ashamed to stand in the same room 
with you and your wife. 

Chester 

(placing a hand on his shoulder) 

It will take more than loss of money to make 
us forget years of friendship. 

Stetson 
But I'm a criminal! 

Chestee 
That has to be proved to me. You are worried. 

Stetson - 

No. I know what I am. But, Chester, don't 
think she (pointing to his wife, who all this time 
has been staring at the floor) had anything to do 
with it. I am to blame. I misled her. I told 

her 

Chester 

(interrupting) 

You did what every man is doing — ^let her have 
all she wanted, and tried to make more for her. 

[ 134 ] 



ACT THIRD 

Mrs. Chester 

(as Stetson looks blankly from one to the other) 

Mrs. Stetson has told me, Mr. Stetson. I know 
all. 

Chester 

And Mabel hasn't turned against you, has she.'* 
Of course not. I tell you, Stetson, there are mo- 
ments when a man, even a business man, feels that 
God is right close to him, right here ! (He strikes 
his heart.) And that moment has come to me. 
Look! I'm rich; (^Stetson starts back in horror) 
I'm wealthy. And that wealth 

Mrs. Stetson 
(rising and interrupting) 
Oh! Mr. Chester, don't you know.? 

Mrs. Chester 

(at the same vast ant that Mrs. Stetson speaks, 
and as Wall rises) 

John ! John ! 

Chester 

(conti/nui/ng, as if unaware of the interruptions) 

And with that money. Stetson, I want to help 
you. It's all in bonds, as good as gold. We are 

[135] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

old friends, and I'm not going to see you go down 
for lack of money. Let them call us money- 
makers, but we have hearts ! That's why I 
brought you over here. (^Stetson raises his 
hands to interrupt him, but Chester continues.) 
I guess you would do the same for us. Look! 
We've been on the wrong track ; living for money 
we have come to consider money a god. We have 
worshiped it. But it's never too late to begin 
life anew. And with my help, and your wife's 
help, you are going to begin anew, live a simpler 
life, a finer life. I am going to get my bonds out 
of our box, and, knowing you are safe, we will 
all break bread together and ask God, perhaps 
for the first time, to bless us and forgive us ! 

Stetson 

(almost screaming with emotion) 

My God! Chester. Don't you know what I 
have done.? Your bonds are 



Chester 

(interrupting and falling bach) 

What.? 

[136] 



ACT THIRD 

Stetson 

(throwing out his hands) 

I have used your bonds. I thought you knew. 
I tried to tell you. I have stolen your wealth. 

Mrs. Chester 
(as her husband appears dazed) 
It was my fault, John! 

Chester 
I — I don't understand. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Oh, Mr. Chester! I prevailed on this girl to 
lend me your bonds for a few days. I gave them 
to my husband. They are gone, along with our 
wealth. You are ruined. 

Stetson 

I did it, I tell you. The women are not to 
blame. I deceived my own wife. 

Chester 

What is this, Mabel? I am stunned. I — I 
don't seem to understand. 

[137] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Stetson 

It was all my fault. I persuaded my wife to 
get the bonds from Mabel. She was to introduce 
her to some top-notchers at our house. I told 
my wife the bonds would remain in my possession, 
and that Morton and I were about to put through 
a big deal. I borrowed money on the bonds, 
thinking to buy them back in a few days. But 
stocks went flat, and the deal has fallen through. 
I've lost everything. 

Chester 
And my bonds? Wall, did you know of this.f^ 

Wall 
Only an hour ago. 

Stetson 

I tell you I am the only one to blame. Your 
bonds are gone, and I'm a bankrupt. I can't 
reclaim them. I'm worse ; I'm a thief. All I can 

do is to 

\^He puts his hand quickly into his 
hip pockety draws a gun, and 
•would shoot himself; but Ches- 
ter springs forward and holds 
his wrist. 

[ 138 ] 



ACT THIRD 

Chester 
Stetson ! 

Stetson 

(struggling to free his hand) 

For God's sake, let go ! 

Chester 

No, no! (With his other hand he takes the 
gun away from Stetson, and tJien releases him. 
]\Irs. Chester has risen, and receives the gun from 
her husband. All have started forward.) Good 
God, man! What would you do? 

Stetson 
(wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve) 
I am a thief, and I have ruined you. 

Chester 

(brokenly, and after a pause) 

We have paid the price. (His voice grows 
stronger.) Stetson, I brought you here to help 
you. Please God, I have done so. We are 
brothers. We were all going to begin anew, 
weren't we.'^ 

{^Puts his hand on Stetson's shoul- 
der. 

[139] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Stetson 

I am only a thief. 

Chester 

We are fellow-men. Lord! Lord! When I 
think of the temptations around us, and how 
society worships the successful and pushes the 
unsuccessful into the black pits of despair, I 
wonder that more of us don't fall. We are still 
rich. You have your wife ; I have Mabel. Let 
this other matter be forgotten. We will begin 
anew. 

Stetson 

But I shall always be the man who has made 
you poor. 

Chester 

You will always be the man who has made me 
see clearly. You will be the man who has helped 
me do right, who has helped me save my soul. 
We are the instruments God uses to bring about 
perfection in His own way. You have helped me, 
Stetson. Come ! Let me help you, too. 

l^Holds out his hand. 

[140] 



ACT THIRl!) 

Stetson 
And the world, Chester? The world? 

Chester 

The few we know, you mean. Why, Stetson, 
nobody knows of this save (he suggests by a wave 
of his hand those present) ourselves. And we 
have decided to forget. All that we are to re- 
member is that w^e are old friends, have been 
through danger together. Every time the sun 
shines on a wakened world God opens a new ac- 
count with it. I never knew it before, but I know 
it now. 

Mrs. Chester 

Life has become suddenly serious and beautiful. 
You have shown me the way, John. 

Stetson 

You have shown me the way, Chester. God 
forgive me for what I have done, and for what I 
would have done. I'm a man again now. I owe 
you everything. I'll repay you yet in part, but 
only in part. 

[ 141 ] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Stetson 

No man can say what he owes to his friend. It 
is only God who can give him the adequate credit. 

Chester 

There ! there ! Nothing of all this to the young 
people. Mabel, it is surely lunch time.? 

Stetson 

(looking at Chester^ 

I can't grasp it all yet. Man, you don't know 
what you have done for me. She (pointing to 
his wife) knows. Perhaps she will tell you some 
day. 

Chester 

Well, let's hope we get to know our true selves 
better. That's what we live for, and to do what 
good we can. We will pull through somehow. 
Let us all meet to-night in your home, perhaps 
for the last time. (Trying to laugh.) The sim- 
ple life must begin in tiny flats, you know. 

Stetson 
(holding out his arms to Chester^ 
My God! I understand now. 

[142] 



ACT THIRD 

Chester 

(goes to Mrs. Stetson and leads her to her 
husband) 

There! We have years ahead of us. Let us 
seek for the beautiful things we have overlooked. 
(He crosses to Mabel, and puts his arm around 
her. Wall remains between the two couples.) 
Mabel, I have done right, haven't I, dear heart.'' 

Mrs. Chester 
Oh, John! John! Can you forgive me.'' 

Chester 

There is nothing to forgive, child. It is all 
forgotten. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Except the old friendship, Mr. Chester. 

Wall 
And the new vow. 



[Enter Erminie. 



Erminie 
Lunch is ready, ma'am. 

(curtain) 

[143] 



ACT IV 

Same as Act I. It is evenmg of the same day. 
The voices of Stetson and Chester are heard 
indistinctly in the adjoining room, as if the men 
lingered over the dinner-table. Elkins and 
Myrtle are alone in the drawing-room. She is 
seated in an armchair; he is standing by the fire- 
place and, as the conversation commences, he 
throws away the cigarette he has been smoking. 

Elkins 

Well, it's a big smash-up. I knew nothing 
about it till we sat down to dinner. Stetson was 
bound to go sooner or later ; but I always thought 
John was well fixed and safe. 

Myrtle 

I can't understand it myself. And John is so 
fine through it all. I always said our American 
men are the best. 

Elkins 

He is one of them, certainly. If I had a pile 
of money, and lost it overnight, I'd feel pretty 
sore. I'd want to bite someone. 

[ 144 ] 



ACT FOURTH 

Myrtle 
You are so ferocious, aren't jou, Henry? 

EliKINS 

I would be if I lost my money. 

Myrtle 

Oh ! you are as bad as the rest of them. You 
see what has become of their (pointing to the ad- 
joining room) money. It vanishes overnight. If 
it brings happiness, it also brings sorrow. Money 
is so little, after all. 

Elkins 

But it establishes friendly relations between us 
and the butcher, and baker, and 

Myrtle 

(interrupting) 

Candlestick-maker. Fiddlesticks! What have 
you to do with the butcher and baker.'' 

Elkins 

(pointedly ) 

Nothing at present, but I may have aspirations 
that way. 

[145] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Myrtle 

Indeed! This is getting interesting. Are you 
going to run a boarding-house on the side? Per- 
haps we may become your first boarders. These 
days (looking around the room) are over now. 
We give up our place at the end of the month. 

Elkins 
Shall you regret it all very much, Myrtle .f* 

Myrtle 
Regret what.'' 

Elkins 

Giving up so much comfort? Judging by what 
Chester says, and Stetson, too, they are going in 
for the Simple Life with a vengeance. 

Myrtle 

Why, no! Show has never appealed to me, 
Henry. And I'm able to earn quite a nice sum 
with my pen, too. Some girls seem to forget that 
their parents didn't begin life with all the luxuries. 
(Enthusiastically/.) Oh! I'm really glad. Mabel 
always laughs at my little checks for five and ten 
dollars; and even when that last one came for a 

[146] 



ACT FOURTH 

hundred — think of it, Henry, a hundred dollars ! 
— she said it would barely suffice for a new dress. 
I think it is a greater sin for rich people to 
squander money than it is for poor people to steal 
it. 

Elkins 

Well, Mabel thinks so now. A woman is made 
or marred by the set she travels with. But those 
days are over, and now you are just Myrtle 
Duncan, who is going to become famous and 

Myetlk 
(interrupting) 

But still the same Myrtle. And life is begin- 
ning for you, too, Henry. No more idling; no 
more lovely walks out to the Park in the golden 
morning. 

Elkins 

With the swans waiting to be fed. 

Myrtle 

And the children sailing boats on the lake. 

[147] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Elkins 

I guess we've tramped every inch of the walks. 
I remember the first time I took you out there. 
You were just so high (indicates with his hand). 
We were both children then. 

Myrtle 

We used to pretend it was the forest of Arden. 
And when we saw a policeman we pretended he 
was an ogre. 

Elkins 

We always hated to turn back into the Avenue. 
It made me feel blue this morning to think it might 
be the last time. 

Myrtle 

Do you remember the fireflies? You used to 
tell me that they were the lamps the fairies carried 
so as to see if the flowers were going to sleep. 

Elkins 

I know. And do you remember how the deer 
used to feed out of your hand? 

[148] 



ACT FOURTH 

Myrtle 

And the squirrels? I wonder what Bunny will 
do without us? He seemed so fond of you. 

Elkins 

So fond of you, Myrtle. Especially as you 
always had something in your pocket for him. 

• 
Myrtle 

Ah! The dream pocket. 

Elkins 

That's what you always called it. And you 
have never told me why. Tell me, Myrtle! 

Myrtle 

(shaking her head very slowly) 
No. 

Elkins 

(leaving the fireplace^ and leaning over the table, 
looking at her) 

Tell me, Myrtle ! 

[149] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Myrtle 

(still shaking her head) 



Not yet. 






Elkins 


Tell me! 






Myrtle 


You'd only laugh. 




Elkins 


No, I won't. 


Tell me! 




Myrtle 




(looking down) 



I called it the dream pocket because I kept all 
sorts of dream things in it. 

Elkins 
Dream things? 

Myrtle 

Things I used to dream over — a moss rosebud; 
a little silver pencil, and an — an old Japanese 
charm. 

[150] 



ACT FOURTH 

Elkins 

Why, Myrtle ! I gave you one — the little God 
of Good Fortune with his rice bales. And I 
gave you a silver pencil (^Myrtle nods her head 
quickly); and I picked a moss rose for you once 
when we were out at the Bronx. And you said 
you would keep it always for remembrance. 

Myrtle 
It is all dried up, but I still have it. 

Elkins 
That was a year ago. 

Myrtle 
It seems like yesterday. 

Elkins 

I remember that trip so well, M3^rtle. I think 
you were afraid of the buffalo. And I remember 
picking that rosebud for you, and wondering if 

anyone saw me. I say. Myrtle (Laughter 

is heard in the adjoining room. Elkins pauses^ 
and then moves and stands beside her, with on£ 
hand on the hack of her chair.) Say, Myrtle, 

[151] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

we've had some awfully good times together, 
haven't we? 

Myrtle 

(quietly) 

Some good times, Henry. 

Elkins 

I hate to think this morning may have been our 
last. 

Myrtle 

There will be other mornings, Henry; Sundays 
— and holidays ! We are going to be workers 
now. 

Elkins 

(nervously) 

You know, you've been so good to me that 
you've sort of spoilt me. 

Myrtle 
You never seemed spoilt to me, Henry. 

Elkins 

Well, you have. Because — because, well, it 
seems now as if I just can't do without you, 

[152] 



ACT FOURTH 

INIyrtle. Especially now that life is really be- 
ginning. 

Myrtle 

(looking straight ahead of her) 

We shall always be good friends, Henry. I'm 
beginning, too; and I wouldn't like to think the 
old friendship was to be broken. 

Elkins 

I didn't mean that. I'm afraid to say what 
I want to. What I want (he drops on one knee 
beside the chair, so as to bring his face on a level 
with hers) is you. Myrtle. I've always wanted 
you. I love you. 

[Myrtle moves her head slowly so 
as to be able to look into his face. 

Myrtle 

(after a pause of several seconds) 

Are you sure, Henry .'^ Life is going to offer 
you so much. 

Elkins 

I love you, Myrtle. And I want life to offer me 
much, and I want to accomplish much just for 
your sake, just so that you can keep on believing 

[153] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

in me. I want you beside me, to remind me of 
the fine; I want to be beside you to help you 
and sympathize with you and encourage you. 
There is so much to be done. And I want to 
help you do your share, because you are no idle 
woman ; and I want to do things myself ; to be- 
come somebody. But I can't do anything with- 
out you. Myrtle. I love you. 

Myrtle 
(leaning slowly to him and kissing him) 
And I love you, Henry. 

Elkins 
(after a pause) 
It — it wasn't so very difficult, Myrtle. 

Myrtle 
What, Henry? 

Elkins 
To tell you I loved you. 

Myrtle 

That's because you really loved me. 

[154] 



ACT FOURTH 

Elkins 

From the very first, Myrtle. I've thought of 
you while I've been working. It seems as if I've 
always thought of you. I've got all sorts of little 
odds and ends of yours. Sometimes I'd take them 
out and look at them. You don't know what 
you've done for me; what you've kept me away 
from. 

Myrtle 

And you have always been my knight, Henry. 
Always my Launcelot. 

Elkins 
I think there is an angel in the room, Myrtle. 



Myrtle 

It is the spirit of my mother, Henry. She 
died when I was still a child. 

[They are silent for some seconds. 
Henry draws her fingers to his 
lips. 

Elkins 

She will be with us till the end. She knows 
that my life is consecrated to you. She will hear 

[155] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

us whisper our dreams to each other, and will 
pray to God for our happiness. 

Myrtle 

Ah! we shall never be happier than now. It is 
consecration's moment. 

Elkins 

(raising his head, and looking at her) 

But we must prolong it throughout eternity. 

l^The voices are heard again in the 
adjoining room. 

Myrtle 
They are so brave! 

Elkins 
They don't know how happy we are. 

Myrtle 

But they are happy, too. I don't know why, 
but I feel that John has done a great deed. Life 
is beginning for us. It is our day. And it is 
beginning for them as well. 

[156] 



ACT FOURTH 

Elkins 

And it is all so beautiful. We have nothing to 
fear. We will try to do our work well, fight the 
good fight, remembering that others are fighting 
side by side with us, and that all is for the best. 
And often, on such an evening as this, when we 
consider what progress we have made, you will 
find me kneeling beside you, and we will re-live 
the old dream. 

Myrtle 

And so remain ever young. I don't think God 
intended we should ever grow old. 



Elkins 
He wants us to be lovers always. 

Myrtle 

Because, being lovers, we shall always be as 
children, happy and pure. 

Elkins 

May I always be worthy of you. Myrtle. 

[157] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Myrtle 

(kissing his forehead) 

I love you, Henry. 

[While she is speaking, women* s 
voices are heard approaching. 
Elkins lifts Myrtle's fingers 
to his lips, and rises, standing 
hy her chair. Mrs. Stetson and 
Mrs. Chester enter through the 
vestibule, conversing. They 
come forward, and Myrtle 
rises. 

Mrs. Stetson 

(dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief ) 

And while we have been saying good-by to my 
bric-a-brac, what have you been doing .f* 

Elkins 

Shall we tell them, Myrtle.'^ 

[Myrtle nods her head. 

Mrs. Chester 

I know ! (Kisses Myrtle, j I can tell by your 
face. 

[158] 



ACT FOURTH 
Elkins 
(taking Myrtle's hand) 
Yes. She loves me. I am awfully happy. 

Myrtle 

(leaning to him) 

And so am I. 

Mrs. Stetson 

(drawing Myrtle to her, and kissing her) 

Happy lovers ! With to-morrow's dawn the 
birds will sing a new song for you — the song of 
love. It is the best song, after all ; it begins at 
the cradle, and happy are they that hear it until 
the last clod of earth is thrown upon a grave. It 
glorifies the humble cottage surrounded by the 
modest flowers of the country ; it sanctifies the 
gloomy tenement where we perceive only poverty 
and squalor ; it humanizes the palace where we 
see nothing but ceremony, insincerity, and show. 
The birds love because they sing; and they sing 
because they always love. If we could only learn 
of them that one truth, if we could only remember 
that at heart every man is a lover, every woman 
a sweetheart, existence would be easier and life 
more beautiful. It is the young who are wise; 

[159] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

for they live in the blessed republic of love, which 
is the kingdom of heaven ; and they think of 
nothing beyond its confines. The veil is lifted 
for them, and they see beyond. Happy are they 
who, when the curtain falls again, can remember 
the glory and the sweet voices that whispered 
to them in the silence. 

\_She kisses Myrtle. 

Elkins 
We heard them, didn't we, Myrtle .^^ 

Mrs. Stetson 

And you must try to hear them always. And 
you must often think back to this evening, Henry. 
Never forget that the one whom you have won 
is human, and always in need of love and sympathy 
and service ; but remember also she is close to the 
Divine. Guard her as you would a priceless 
pearl. Though she is your wife, think of her 
as your sweetheart, as the girl by whose side you 
knelt but a little while ago. And, above all 
things, do not forget that some day you will have 
to surrender her to God, that she may stand, 
white as flame, with the other pure women yon 
side the grave. It is only the pure in heart that 
know what home and heaven are. 

[ 160 ] 



ACT FOURTH 

Elkins 

(stepping forward and grasping her hand) 

Mrs. Stetson ! 

Mrs. Stetson 

There! There! Take your girl, and cherish 
her. 

[While she is speaking, the voices 
in the adjoining room are 
raised; the door opens, and 
Stetson and Chester enter. 
Mrs. Stetson and Mrs. Ches- 
ter take seats; Elkins and 
Myrtle remain standing, in 
conversation. 

Stetson 

Ah! Here they are. Well, Mrs. Chester, you 
have seen all our pretty things for the last time. 
They will soon be the property of others. 

Mrs. Chester 

They have given you pleasure; let the others 
enjoy them. There are more beautiful things in 
the world, and before long you will be able to 
collect again. 

[161] 



THE WOIVIAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

Well, we are all in the same boat. From now 
on we must steer for easier seas. 

Mrs. Stetson 
Somebody in this room has chosen her Captain. 

Stetson 

Miss Myrtle! (Goes over to shake hands with 
her,) I wish you much happiness. It will al- 
ways be a pleasure to us to think that this hap- 
pened beneath our roof. Elkins, (as Chester 
goes up to Myrtle and talks to her) you are a 
lucky fellow. I congratulate you. Some twenty 

years ago (He passes his hand across his 

brow.) Ah ! what changes in twenty years. But 
for you it must be Full Speed Ahead! Only re- 
member the precious freight you have charge of, 
and steer clear of the rocks that wrecked me. 

Mrs. Stetson 
Quite a speech for Richard! 

Chester 

(turning to Stetson as Myrtle seats herself) 

We are all going to steer carefully in future. 
We are not derelicts by any means. Our owners 

[162] 



ACT FOURTH 

(pointing to his wife) still have faith in us. And 
it takes more than the loss of his money to keep 
down an American. Why, man! We are both 
in the prime of life. We shall yet beat these 
young people. Think how full our country is of 
opportunities. The air awaits our galleons : im- 
prisoned spirits cry to us from beneath our moun- 
tains ; innumerable blessings lie hid within the 
soil. All around us we see the prairie developing 
into villages, the villages becoming towns, towns 
becoming cities ; and, in the over-swollen metropo- 
lis, the peddler can work his way into the ranks 
of merchant princes. A man can do anything, be- 
come anything in this country if he only be a man ! 
Let us have faith in ourselves. From all parts 
of the world people come to us, knowing that 
America means progress, means success. Stetson, 
we must determine to get in line. The best is 
yet to be. 

\_The men find seats. 

Myrtle 
Think of John quoting Browning! 

Mrs. Stetson 
It is because there are lovers in the room. 

[163] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

A change has come over us all, Myrtle. You 
have yet to learn the possibilities within the Amer- 
ican man. 

Mrs. Chester 

And in the American woman, too. 

Elkins 
She's the best of the lot. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Not exactly that, but she could make herself 
the best. The day comes in a woman's life when 
she finds that gadding about playing bridge, sip- 
ping tea and talking gossip, and running with 
wealthier women so as to be seen in their com- 
pany is not the end for which the individual was 
created. She finds out that earning money is 
not picking it up on the street ; and, when she 
learns that, she is not so willing to squander 
money on dress and frivolity, and give her pro- 
tector nothing but her company at mealtime. A 
good woman will want to become her husband's 
companion, and only when she is that can there 
be true happiness in the home. 

[164] 



ACT FOURTH 

Stetson 

Well, my dear, you will have a chance to stay 
at home now. False friends will fall away. 

Myrtle 

So much the better, Mrs. Stetson. You will 
find true sympathy among the people Henry and 
I intend drawing around us — people who do things, 
or endeavor to do things. Idlers have no place in 
our country to-day, and an idle woman is more 
dangerous than an idle man. 

Chester 
Stetson and I have not been idlers, Myrtle. 

Myrtle 
No, but |-^^ ^^^^^ suddenly. 

Mrs. Chester 
Myrtle means that I have. And she is right. 

Mrs. Stetson 
I, too, have been an idler. 

Stetson 

We have all been idlers in a way. We have let 
the fine things of life go by unnoticed. He is an 

[165] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

idler who has accomplished nothing, and, my God! 
what have I accomplished? I have forgotten the 
stars and the flowers ; I have harmed my fellow- 
men. I have lived as if to-day were the only day, 
and money the only thing. And now I have lost 
it, and I've also lost 

Chester 

(interrupting) 

That is all to be forgotten. Stetson. We are 
both men again, not mere machines. We are be- 
ginning anew, you know. 

Elkins 

Just as thousands are doing, and just as thou- 
sands have ever done. And, after all, is it fair 
to blame business men for having no higher ideal 
than to make money, and society women for hav- 
ing no higher ideal than to spend it? How many 
are there willing and able to get their ears and 
whisper: You are wasting time? When a think- 
ing man is plucky enough to do that, he is called 
a bore or a sorehead. 

Chester 

Well, if he starts one man or one woman on the 
right path, he has done more than if he gives some 

[166] 



ACT FOURTH 

of his surplus wealth to charity, or founds a free 
library. When once people begin to think, they 
usually make up for lost time and think pretty 
hard. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Let us hope our women begin pretty soon. Too 
many men are paying the price of our folly. 

Stetson 

We are equally culpable, my dear. But better 
days are coming. America is all right. Out of 
our turmoil and unrest something fine will evolve. 
We are the greatest people in the world to right 
a wrong when once it is brought home to us. 

Myrtle 

That's fine, Mr. Stetson. I'm a true American, 
and believe in my own. So does Henry. 

Mrs. Stetson 
Lovers should, my dear! 

Mrs. Chester 

And we must have faith in ourselves. You, 
Myrtle, have your work, and it will always keep 

[167] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

you happy. But for women like myself, who 
have been idlers and triflers, there remains but 
one thing — to see that idling and trifling end in 
disaster ; and that even if we can't write, or paint, 
or do great and noble things, we can at least 
regain our self-respect by trying to become earnest 
women. 

Chester 

(rising to take a cigarette from a box on the table) 

You have always been that, my dear. (He 
leans over his wife's chair.) And Stetson will 
say the same thing of his wife. Our only regret 
will be that we can't surround you with the com- 
forts you have jbeen accustomed to (she puts up 
her hand and takes his), and that life must be 
serious from now on. 

Mrs. Stetson 
But more beautiful. 

Chester 

Yes, far more beautiful. We shall even have 
time to get acquainted with each other. But, 
Mabel, won't you miss your bridge friends, your 
electric, your subscription seats, and 

[168] 



ACT FOURTH 

Mrs. Chester 

(interrupting) 

No, no, no. Oh, John! you know I won't. I 
am so tired of it all. What I want is just home 
and you. The other seems a nightmare now, all 
so empty and heartless. You shall see what I can 
do. I have been so selfish all these years, but now 
I want only you. You shall see how gladly a 
woman gives up the sham when once she learns 
what the finer things are. I will show you that 
even a society doll has a heart, and that she can 
become a good wife and worthy of the best of men. 

Chester 

(releasing his hand and^ laying it tenderly on her 

hair) 
My wife! 

Stetson 

You have expressed my wife's ideas, my dear 
Mrs. Chester, and the ideas of thousands of good 
women. Life doesn't look so dark after all. Of 
course, the street car is not so aristocratic as the 
electric, but our fathers and mothers seemed to 
be content with it, and so are nine people out of 
ten to-day. Riding with other people will make 

[169] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

us more human, more humane. It is not the rich 
that have the warmest hearts. 



Elkins 

Hear that, Myrtle? Shall you be content with 
the gallery and the horse-car? 

Myrtle 
Maybe my new book will prove a Best Seller? 

Elkins 

I hope it may, but the man must pay the bills, 
you know. 

Myrtle 

I don't know anything of the kind. True love 
means equality in all things. 

Mrs. Stetson 

Now, don't quarrel to-night. Such matters 
will regulate themselves at the proper time. We 
are all going to begin the right way, a republic 
within a republic; being happy ourselves, we shall 
all endeavor to so influence others as to make 
them happy. 

[170] 



ACT FOURTH 

Chester 

We have certainly begun well to-night. Stet- 
son, you and I are like sailors who have left a 
slowly sinking ship, and reach the land in safety. 
All their possessions go down, but they are glad 
to get off with their lives and a good scare. We 
have had our wreck, our scare; but we are all 
well, and still have that which is dearest to every 
man. Of course, it is a pity that we can learn 
only through disaster; but that is one of our 
characteristics, and it is certainly better to learn 
that way than never to learn at all. 

Stetson 

Whatever the future may contain for me, I'm 
done with speculation. For years I have lived 
with a sword hanging by a thread above my head. 
If speculation makes a few people wealthy, it 
makes thousands poor. It is a game at which 
only the few can win ; and it only takes a turn of 
the wheel for that few to lose their money, too. 
America has become what it is by industry. The 
world depends on us. There is something for 
each one of us to do, something in legitimate lines. 
We need never fear competition at home while 
Europe has to be fed and clothed and supplied 
by us with almost everything it needs. 

[171] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Mrs. Chester 

And we, who have had to learn the lesson along 
with you, who have been thoughtless and foolish, 
and have paid the price, have no fear of the future. 
There is so much that we can do to help you. I 
don't mean out on the street, but right in-doors. 
The man who does the work is entitled to a home 
— after the fight, the bivouac. 

Mrs. Stetson 

If all American women only felt that way, our 
men would accomplish wonders, and the word fail- 
ure would be unknown. (She looks toward the 
vestibule.) Ah! the bell. 

Elkins 

It will be the steady grind for me. And only a 
few more days of liberty. (He stretches his arms 
above his head, and rises.) Say, Myrtle, don't 
j'^ou want to go for a ride? This has been a 
pretty serious evening. We have talked like high- 
brows. Mrs. Stetson will excuse us, I guess. It's 
a beautiful night. 

Mrs. Stetson 

And the dark is calling, isn't it.? Happy lovers ! 
Yes, go along, both of you. 

[in] 



ACT FOURTH 

Myrtle 
I am very comfortable. 

Mrs. Chester 
She is only teasing you, Henry. She wants you 
to coax a little. 

Stetson 
Be good to him, Miss Myrtle. He looks un- 
happy. 

Chester 
As if he had lost his job already. 

Elkins 
Shut up! Come on, Myrtle. 

Mrs. Stetson 

And tell your dreams beneath the stars. (While 
she is speaking. Wall and Miss Florriwell en- 
ter through the vestibule. Myrtle, who was 
about to rise, looks at Henry, laughs, and retains 
her seat. Mrs. Stetson and the men rise. Mrs. 
Stetson greets Miss Florriwell, and the men 
exchange bows. The women nod.) Miss Florri- 
well ! I am glad to see you. We have had a cele- 

[ 173 ] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

bration dinner. And beneath our roof a love 
affair has had its culmination. Myrtle and Henry 
Elkins are engaged. 

Miss Florriwell 

How fine ! (Goes over to Myrtle. J My dear, 
I am so glad. 

\^She takes a seat beside Myrtle, 
and converses quietly. The men 
and Mrs. Stetson are still 
standing. 

Wall 

(from where he stands) 

Same here, Miss Myrtle. Elkins, you don't de- 
serve her. 

[He places a chair for Mrs. Stetson. 

Stetson 
He was just trying to take her away. 

Wall 
Ah! I know how he feels. 

Mrs. Chester 
You? 

[ n4 ] 



ACT FOURTH 

Wall 
Certainly. Why not, pray? 

Mrs. Chester 

Well, you old bachelors are not supposed to 
understand the tender emotions. 

Wall 
A fallacy, my dear lady, I assure you. 

Mrs. Chester 
A simulated appreciation, perhaps? 

Stetson 

That's what you get for being a bachelor, Wall ; 
an object of suspicion to everybody. 

Chester 
An object of pity! 

Wall 
(dramatically) 
ScofF on! I remain unscathed. 

Elkins 
And hardened. 

[175] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

(protestingly) 

Allow me, my dear ladies. There Is one who 
certainly does not think me hopeless. 

Mrs. Stetson 

More surprises? 

Wall 

And not the last, I assure you. But our own 
affairs always seem of the greatest importance. 
Miss Florriwell (^Miss Florriwell seems to enter 
more animatedly into conversation with Myrtle, 
and takes her hand), may I take our friends into 
our confidence .'^ 

Myrtle 

(to Miss Florriwell^ 

Oh ! I know. Your hand is trembling. 

\_Kisses her. 

Mrs. Stetson and Mrs. Chester 
(simultaneously ) 

Miss Florriwell! 
Ann! 

[ 176 ] 



ACT FOURTH 

Wall 

Yes. My Ann! You see, Miss Florriwell has 
taken pity on me, and an hour ago 

Elkins 
(interrupting) 
It was in the air. 

Wall 

And an hour ago honored me by promising to 
become my wife. (^Chester, Stetson, and El- 
kins imTnediately press around Miss Florriwell. J 
Of course, I'm the happiest man in the world 

Elkins 

(interrupting, and calling out from the men 
around Miss Florriwell^ 

Bar one, old man. Don't forget I'm still here. 

Wall 

Bar none. So now, Mrs. Chester, you see I 
can well say that I know how happy this roys- 
terer feels. 

[The men separate again, 

[177] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Mrs. Stetson 

Miss Florriwell, come and take this chair by 
me. Myrtle has had you long enough. fMiss 
FiiORRiWELL takes the seat.) Now you and I 
and Mrs. Chester . can chat together. Henry 
seems to be jealous of you. 

[Chester shakes hands with Wall 
and talks quietly. 

Stetson 

Surprises are certainly coming quickly to-night. 
One engagement, then another. I think we must 
drink to the happiness of the brides to be. Twenty 
years ago — Ah! I said that before. (He laughs, 
and leaves the room, entering the dining-room.) 
Oh, Elkins, come here a minute. 

Elkins 

Excuse me, Mrs. Stetson. I think I've heard 
that call before. 

[He goes after Stetson. Chester 
and Wall take seats. 

Miss Florriwell 

Yes, I can't tell you how happy I am. And in 
a few days we are to be married, and then we are 
going away. 

[178] 



ACT FOURTH 

Mrs. Stetson 

(talcing her hand) 

We have known each other for so many years. 
You have seen us up, and now you see us down. 
But this is one of the happiest evenings of my 
life. 

Wall 

And it is yet to be made happier, my dear Mrs. 
Stetson. 

Mrs. Chester 

Why ! what is the next surprise ? 

Wall 
Ah! That must be kept secret a while longer. 

Mrs. Stetson 

I cannot imagine more good news. Myrtle's 
engagement, yours, and our determination to live 
a sane and simple life. 

Wall 
And you regret nothing? 

[179] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Mrs. Stetson 
No, indeed. I feel thirty again. 

Wall 
And you, Mrs. Chester.? 

Chester 

I will answer for her. We both feel as if a 
load had been removed from our shoulders. 

Mrs. Stetson 
(looking at Chester J 
A load of gratitude is on ours, dear friend. 

Mrs. Chester 

But that must sit so lightly as to be unnoticed. 
We decided not to talk of it again. 

[Elkins and Stetson enter, the 
one bearing a silver tray and 
glasses, the other the wine. 

Stetson 

Here we are. Have we been gone long? 

[180] 



ACT FOURTH 

Chester 

Too long for Henry, I guess. 

[Elkins places the tray on the 
table, and Stetson opens the 
wine. 

Stetson 

Well, we are all united again now. If there 
is a roomful of happier people in town, I'd like 

to know it. 

[He starts to fill the glasses. 

Wall 
One can always add to happiness, you know. 

Myrtle 
Just hear him! And engaged only an hour! 

Stetson 

(still filling the glasses) 

No. Let us be content as we are. Now, 
Elkins, get busy. We are going to drink to 
the happiness of the engaged couples. 

[ 181 ] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Wall 

(while Elkins and Stetson hand around the 

glasses) 
Wait! 

\_He rises. 
Mrs. Chester 

Ah! The fresh surprise. 

Wall 
Yes. A surprise. 

Stetson 
What's that? 

Mrs. Stetson 
Mr. Wall says he has another surprise for us. 

Wall 

Yes; for you and your husband, Mrs. Stetson. 
(Turning to Mrs. Chester. j And for you and 
yours, Mrs. Chester. (^Chester rises agitatedly ^ 
and Stetson puts down his glass and leans 
against a chair.) Quite a surprise. 

[182] 



ACT FOURTH 

Chester 
What is it, Wall? 

Wall 

It was only natural for me to tell you of my 
own good fortune first. A man of my age isn't 
accepted every day. 



Stetson 



Go on! 



Wall 

(tantalizingly) 

Now, don't hurry me. I refuse to be hurried. 
It brings on indigestion. And a wine like this (he 
smells the glass he is holding) should be enjoyed 
to the full. Ah ! the bouquet is perfect ! 



Mrs. Chester 
(imploringly/) 



Mr. Wall! 



Wall 

( serioiLslT/ ) 

There! I have to have my little joke. Really 
good news is good to keep for a time. (He turns 

[183] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

to Stetson. J Stetson, I won't bother all of you 
with the details now, but I have heard that Morton 
is safe. (^Stetson takes a step towards him, and 
Chester ejaculates " Ah 1 ") A stock he was in- 
terested in has gone up for some reason or other. 
Heavy English buying after our market was 
closed. You probably understand it better 
than I. 

Stetson 

My God ! London has bought after all. That 
means that I 

Wall 

(interrupting him quietly) 

Are undoubtedly saved. 

Stetson 
And it means that my deal has gone through. 

Wall 

Undoubtedly. In fact I know it has. I have 
received a wij*e to act as attorney for the English 
buyers, and secure certain papers from you in 
return for the money which is to be paid over to 
you in my presence. I learnt all this just as I 

[ 184 ] 



ACT FOURTH 

was leaving for Miss Florriwell. That is why 
we came over here. 



Miss Florriwell 
Not entirely, Heron. 

Wall 

That's so. However (to StetsgnJ, you know 
: now. 

Stetson 

(to Chester^ 

And that means that I can repay you every- 
' thing, Chester. 

Chester 

(putting out his hand) 

It would all have been the same, Stetson. But 
for the sake of those we love, this is good news. 

Wall 

I guess there will be an Extra about it before 
long. The newspapers are bound to hear of it 
through someone. 

[185] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Stetson 
(sits down heavily) 
My God! It can't be true. I feel faint. 

Wall 

Brace up. I'm telling you the truth. 
(Lightly.) This is what you get for being a 
broker ; up one minute ; down the next ; then up 
again. 

Mrs. Stetson 

(to her husband) 

Oh! never, never again. I love you too much, 
dear- 

Chester 

(interrupti/ng) 

No, never again, Mrs. Stetson. (To his wife.) 
Mabel, you know what this good news means ? 

Mrs. Chester 
Yes, John. 

Chester 

But you don't want me to enter the ring again ? 
You don't want to go back to the old life.? 

[186] 



ACT FOURTH 

Mrs. Chester 

Never, never, never. And neither will Mrs. 
Stetson. We have made our resolutions, and we 
are going to abide by them. 

Stetson 

(rising again) 

Wall, jou have indeed told us good news. I 
am more grateful to you than I can say. (He 
looks at Chester, who smiles back at him.) You 
deserve all your happiness. I have been taught a 
lesson. And from now on I shall live only for her 
(pointing to his wife) and to do a little good. In 
a few days I'll have cashed in everything, and then 
for a useful life. Chester, old man (Emo- 
tion prevents him from concluding.) 

Chester 

You've expressed my sentiments. Now I think 
it is about time to do what we started out to do. 

Elkins 
Hear! hear! 

Myrtle 

(reprovingly/) 

Now, Henry, only a little, mind! 

[187] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 

Chester 

Take up your glass, Stetson. Shall I say it? 
Well! Here's to the brides to be! And as all of 
us owe that (looking at Wall J regenerated 
bachelor something, we will include the prospective 
husbands in our toast. May they all be very 
happy. 

[^The toast is drunk, 

Mrs. Stetson 
So we are not to be poor, after all. 

Mrs. Chester 

But we are no longer going to be idlers and 
wasters. I have learnt the lesson. I guess I can 
be of service in one way or another. 

Chester 
(placing his arm around his wife) 

We will learn how together, Mabel. 

Myrtle 

And you can give your big dinner, Mrs. 
Stetson. 

[ 188 ] 



ACT FOURTH 

Mrs. Stetson 

No, that can stay off now. Besides (looking 
at Wallj, the best man wouldn't be there. 

Chester 
Now, Stetson, you have cause for jealousy. 

Stetson 

We will call him that. He has made us all 
feel good to-night. What can we do for him.? 

E1.KINS 
I know what will please him. Promise not to 
tie ribbons on their baggage, or 

Wall 
(interrupting) 
You see, his mind is dwelling on what may hap- 
pen to him before long. 

Mrs. Chester 

Never mind, Henry. It never lasts long. And 
if the cost of living keeps on going up, people 
may become less prodigal with rice. 

[189] 



THE WOMAN WHO COULD 
Myetle 
I think you are all horrid. 

Miss Florriwell 

So do I, dear. The wine must have gone to 
their heads. 

l^While she is s peaking y a newsboy's 
voice is heard in the distance. 



Listen ! 



Chester 
(holding up his hand) 

\Th€ voice sounds nearer and 
clearer y and presently one hears 
the words, " Extrj ! Morton 
still on top. Extry ! " 

Stetson 

It's true. It has all been an awful nightmare. 
I, too, have learnt the lesson. Chester, let's shake 
again. (They grasp hands.) But what can we 
do for Wall.? 

Wall 

Nothing, except to wish us well. And yet, wait ! 
There is one thing you can do, and it's the right 
and proper thing, too. 

[190] 



ACT FOURTH 

Stetson and Chester 

(as the others all lean forward and listen to his 

answer) 

What's that? 

Wall 

Promise to make me godfather to the Stetsons 

and Chesters to be, and — live up to your promise ! 

[He puts his arm around Miss 

Florriwell, and amid general 

laughter and cheers the curtain 

descends. 



[191] 



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